Nicole Underhay (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)
The Killing Curiosity
Tarragon presents a GG winner's spook-fest
by Beat Rice
I can’t remember the last time I felt spooked when I was watching a play. Carole Fréchette’s play, translated by John Murrell, is one that builds in mystery and tension, until it falls apart near the end. But we will get to that later.
Last night, the English premiere of The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs opened in the Mainspace at the Tarragon Theatre. The brilliant Weyni Mengesha also makes her directing debut at the Tarragon. Collaborating with designer Astrid Jansen, the set is in one corner of the room with the audience in an ‘L’ shape. The set is minimalistic, but with Bonnie Beecher’s lighting, we see hallways, a narrow staircase, and a dark room. The staging is simple yet highly effective. Mengesha uses the space in a way that allows our imaginations to put things in place. Thomas Ryder Payne’s eerie sound design creates a horror movie like feel.
