Nathalie Blonder has her wits scared out of her watching The Statement of Randolph Carter at the Holbeck Underground Ballroom …
On the day before Halloween I once again found myself at the Holbeck Underground Ballroom to enjoy some indie theatre, and the space had been completely transformed. When the time came for the show to start the audience, wrapped up in coats and woolly hats, some swaddled in HUB blankets, were led to the performance space via a path of lanterns. As we took our seats there was what I initially thought was a pile of rags plonked centre stage, but after squinting through the darkness it became clear that it was in fact an actor. Michael Sabbaton, with a Masters from Goldsmiths and a generally multi-talented wonder, from archery to playing to ukulele – clearly he’s creatively inclined. Most importantly, he is a phenomenal actor. The Statement of Randolph Carter, based on the short story by horror author, H.P Lovecraft, as essentially a two-man show, with Sabbaton on stage and his faithful soundman providing half the dialogue as well as the atmospherics.
The play began with this raggedy character rising off the floor. With a bell in hand and a bandaged face it became clear that this character was something of a leper. Immediately intimidating, he stares out members of the audience with a solemn look of warning in his eyes. A completely demented man, when not speaking in ancient languages, he spoke of evil and the end of all days. The room was so cold you could see the leper’s breath as he voiced his ominous soothsaying, and the fabric surrounding his mouth blew fiercely with cruel sound the man uttered. Once he had made his speech, the atmosphere in the room was a mixture of discomfort and confusion.
This ambiguity continued as the raggedy man transformed in the darkness into a gentleman of the early 20th Century, and could be seen looking at the audience with a lantern of his own, a sense of fear and wonder about him as the lights rose slightly. The most impressive thing about the show is that Sabbaton’s impressive and emotive performance was aimed toward and worked around a pre-recording of the Randolph Carter character – he was essentially interacting with a speaker, and his timing was impeccable.
Eventually I realised that the character before us was Harley Warren, an eager occultist exploring the depths of a tomb in a Florida swampland, with Randolph, his gifted but panic-stricken assistant communicating from the entrance via archaic telephone wire. We witness Harley’s descent into madness as he waits to be confronted by the netherworld, a startling spectacle as he fits right in front of us, possessed by evil. As the characters realise that ultimate knowledge isn’t necessarily power, their quest turns awry when Warren is overcome and killed by malevolent forces – we hear demons catching up with his assistant and making short of him as well. That final scream by Randolph Carter sent shivers down everyone’s spine and we left the space feeling, frankly a little bit scared – a very effective way to bring in Halloween 2013.
Do not fret if you’re eager to be frightened out of your wits by one actor and his soundman, as the show has just begun! They will be journeying around Yorkshire throughout the whole of November and you can find out more on the official tour website, make sure you don’t miss out on this spooky experience!
