Fresh off the massively successful Mystery of Edwin Drood, Vertigo Mystery Theatre returns to its roots with the dark psychological thriller Snake In The Grass, running until February 17th at the base of the Calgary Tower.
For Annabel and her sister Miriam, their sunlight garden is filled with deeply buried childhood memories. But when night falls, is it only the past that blooms in the darkness? Or is something much more terrifying growing? And, what forgotten secrets lurk beneath the timeworn summer house? Starring Laura Parken, Kathryn Kerbes and Val Planche, Snake In The Grass slithers from black comedy to haunting supernatural thriller. This hugely entertaining story promises laughs, gasps – and spine-tingles galore.
“There are no actual snakes. One of our actresses is not disappointed by that as she is terrified of snakes, she doesn’t even like to joke about it,” director Vanessa Porteous told GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine on the eve of the show’s opening.
Porteus heads up something unique in theatre that adds an interesting element to the show.
“Including the technical director and production manager, and all female cast, there are a lot of women on this show. I have never had an all male cast, but certainly it is a slightly different feeling when it is all women as opposed to mixed. It doesn’t change it that much but women and men have slightly different ways of handling things. Women talk more freely and openly about things like our periods and stuff. It is a nice change, especially in a male dominated art form like thrillers. There tend to be a lot of men in this genre and it is nice to be exploring it from a woman’s perspective.”
Porteus is mostly known for her work with Alberta Theatre Projects, and is excited to make her Vertigo Theatre directing debut.
“This is my first time working at Vertigo and I am really happy to be here. Vertigo has a very high reputation in the community as being a great place to work. They have a great staff and are really ambitions with what they are trying to do with these murder mysteries. They have a specific mandate, they are trying to do everything possible within that mandate, and I really like that. Artistically speaking, I think it is interesting to try and scare people in the theatre. I find it a fascinating task and believe that telling ghost stories is one of the things theatre is for. I have often found I have been at plays that aren’t scary enough so I decided to put my money where my mouth is and give it a try,” she explained. “[Directing a mystery] is pretty much the same job, you are just trying to make the experience as rich and fulfilling for the audience as possible, regardless of the material. This is more of a psychological supernatural thriller, and the challenge is that if you are not thrilling them you are not doing your job. That is true for every play, if they are not laughing during a comedy you aren’t doing your job. It is unforgiving like comedy in that way – if they are not jumping out of their seats then you aren’t doing it right. I enjoy that challenge.”
Although some would feel pressure in trying to follow up a success like The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Porteous has not let that pressure affect her.
“When you are making a piece of theatre you don’t think about things like the success of the previous show as it tends to paralyze you. You put that aside and just work on the piece and make it as excellent as you can. What is cool is that it is such a huge contrast for the audience from Drood. It is a much more character based, tight knit, layered complex situation. It is cool for the audience to have had that explosive, spectacular experience of Drood and then come back and see this deep, dark, thriller. It is a testament to Mark Bellamy’s programming that they get both of those experiences within the same season. It is also a testament to what is possible within this genre, which we all tend to underestimate a little bit.”
The show has already gone into previews, and by the time you read this, it will have had its opening night. Porteous told us that the audience’s reaction thus far has been exactly what they wanted.
“I think it is really helpful to do previews when you are doing a mystery because the audience is so important to the experience that it is helpful to be able to go back into rehearsal and tweak. The audience has been great, laughing and jumping out of their seats when they are supposed to be. It is interesting to listen and see when they figure out what is going on. When you can figure out when they figure it out, you adjust it to make that discovery come as late as possible. The audience seems to really be enjoying it, clapping, cheering and talking about how scared they were, and that’s what you want.”
So why see Snake In The Grass?
“Go along for the ride. The characters are fascinating; there are lots of laughs, lots of twists and turns that are really going to surprise you. There are three fabulous performances, some spooky stuff and it will be great.”
Snake In The Grass
January 31 to February 17th, 2008
Vertigo Mystery Theatre
www.vertigotheatre.com
