Writer: Madeline Farnhill
Director: Natalie Simone
This production is an intense two-hander that is full-on from start to finish. Nerves were jangling from the very beginning, watching the fragile relationship of a mother and her daughter isolated on a farm in a post-apocalyptic North Yorkshire, fighting against literally everyone else. A deadly disease has recently swept the nation, sending people mad, so mad in fact that the desire for human flesh is all that will sate their appetite. The pair trust no one except each other, until one day, the balance shifts.
As far as horror-based dramas go, this one has a clever concept – part Misery and part Dawn of the Dead, it centres around the fear of ‘other’ and what happens when morality and motherhood collide.
The show is intentionally a difficult watch, including force feeding of daughter Megan, screaming, hyperventilating and some uncomfortable moments worthy of any horror film or play. The acting by both Madeleine Farnhill (Megan) and Helen Fullerton (Deborah – the mum) is of a high calibre throughout. The relationship between the two is believable.
One thing that will stay with the audience is the haunted look in actor/writer Farnhill’s eyes as she searched for intruders on the horizon, from the apparently relative safety of her home. Her portrayal of the trauma and anxiety suffered by the daughter of a controlling mother was raw and physical.
The one difficulty with this play is that the tension is very ‘one note’. The play starts tensely and stays at that same level throughout, never really letting up, but also never really heightening. It is this lack of light and shade that lets it down a little, along with a slightly confusing time frame, it is difficult to tell how many days or even weeks have passed in the show’s timeframe – this is an abridged version for the Fringe so it is possible that there had been more of a contrast between scenes previously. Fans of dystopian horror may well find this show a satisfying watch.
Runs until 28 August 2023 | Image: David Monteith-Hodge
