November 1
The Carriageworks
somestories.co.uk
Post Halloween night, I headed down to the Carriageworks Theatre to see the spooky one man show, The Unquiet Dead. At first, I was sceptical. Previous one-man performances that I’ve witnessed have comprised of terrible stand up including a man describing the joys of having Chlamydia. However, even with the simple staging, Matthew Bellwood’s enthusiasm enabled me to remain engaged throughout.
Bellwood is notorious for his ability to tell tales ranging from traditional myths to interpretations of well-known literary classics. The short performance consists of a montage of macabre and ghostly stories intertwined with haunting a capella folk songs. The experienced storyteller, Bellwood, narrates fables ranging from that of a creepy pensioner who consumes the hearts of defenceless twelve year olds to that of a shadow which inflicts pain on those it reaches.
macabre ghost stories intertwined with haunting a capella folk songs
Although his impressive story-telling ability was a bonus, he described in the prologue that the performance would present tales more terrifying than just the concept of ‘things that go bump in the night’. In spite of this, the content of the stories were tame and lacked the spine-chilling moments which horror stories should entail.
Additionally, at some moments the atmosphere felt a little awkward. For instance, the performance began with some audience participation to set the mood. Regardless of this, Bellwood was able to end the show on a light-heartened note and provided some comic relief as he retold his own first-hand experience with ghosts.
For a solitary act, Bellwood is certainly able to do justice to the storytelling mode of performance, and he has unquestionably altered my opinion of what a one-man show can be.
Claire O’Shea