Haunted, Paul Van Dyck’s play about the Great Amherst Mystery, is a hit. From the moment the cello and violin music greet the audience in the hall at the back of St. James Church, you know that you are in truly professional theatrical hands. Even the most skeptical of us can enjoy the seamless playwriting, the flawless direction and truly inspired acting in this event.
The bizarre story features the awful and macabre events that ensued after a simple barmaid was taken for a ride on the Marsh Road by her peculiar boyfriend. Esther Cox managed to befuddle the medical profession, baffle the religious community and was even imprisoned for the activities of her poltergeist. Most peculiar is that all these events actually happened and were written about in great profusion.
There is even a touch of comedy as Ester’s sister, performed delightfully by Alexandra Haber, and brother-in-law, portrayed very effectively by Carlo Mestroni, abandon her to the wiles of a travelling thespian who takes her “spiritualist” act on the road. The thespian is amusingly depicted by Paul Van Dyck, who directed the play with a terrific sense of timing and imagination.
The play had the simplest set, and very effective lighting which was enhanced by the animation of Jeremy Eliosoff. The space was occupied so intelligently that the movements and noises off stage reached brilliant proportions. At one point someone next to me mentioned that they hoped there was an actual priest in the building in case things got out of hand.
Esther Cox was excellently played by Catherine Bérubé. She managed to bring all the bravado of a young woman in defiance of society, and the vulnerability of a small town ingénue into the story of possession. Eric Davis played the clumsy doctor who succumbs to his own medicine in the end. He was just stiff enough at the start and inarticulate at the finish to give Dr. Carritte power and credibility. Kyle Gatehouse was competent as Bob MacNeal, the boyfriend from hell, but it might have served the really strong cast to have a Bob with more punch.
Daniel Giverin is a fine actor and apparently a wonderful music director and fiddler. Trevor Smith was delightful on the cello, and this is one of those plays in which the sound was crucial to the plot, and added to the climax of the story.
I am not a great fan of the horror and ghost genres, but I have to admit that seeing a well crafted, beautifully directed and brilliantly performed play was a great treat. The weather was appropriately dark and wet as the play let out, and I recommend that everyone chance a storm to see this work.
Haunted runs through Oct. 25, and again from Oct. 27-31 at Dawson Hall, St. James United Church. 463 Ste-Catherine West. Entrance: 1440, rue St-Alexandre. Tickets: General ($20): Tuesdays (2 for 1). Box Office: (514) 303–7646.
