Joseph Furey Archives - North West End UK

One Man Poe – Shakespeare North Playhouse

1Jul

By Stephanie WiswallNo Comments

North West

One Man Poe – Shakespeare North Playhouse

Described as a 'marathon of the macabre' by director and performer Stephen Smith, this performance of some of Edgar Allan Poe's most renowned stories is captivating from start to finish. Although, I was only fortunate enough to see the abridged version of the show featuring two of the four main stories, I would relish to see the remaining stories and urge people to take a dive into the grisly, dark world of One Man Poe. How one man can thoroughly engage an audience so that you are able to hear a pin drop is a great achievement and Smith should be so incredibly proud. The portrayal and delivery of the lines was done with such passion, clarity and perfection, that the audience felt every lurid and desperate emotion within each story. The minimalist set and the fantastic use of the prop...

The Black Cat – Threedumb Theatre @ the Space

Edgar Allen Poe’s macabre short story written in 1843 is one of the finest examples of gothic horror ever written. The story explores the psychology of guilt and the consequences of a grim and unspeakable crime. It is also a story about revenge and retribution but to go any further in its description would spoil all the fun. Suffice to say, after The Tell Tale Heart this is probably one of Poe’s most accessible and memorable stories and Threedumb Theatre using their now familiar live-stream one take promenade approach gives us a richly dark and quite chilling rendition of this strange story. Stephen Smith (who also directs this piece) plays the haunted yet totally unsympathetic narrator whist Michaela Bennison plays the narrators wife. Both actors exude great energy throughout but it...

Within – Threedumb Theatre Live

Joseph Furey’s one man play tells the story of an isolated and lonely young man who downloads a creepy AI app which promises to show him the meaning of life. Even though the sci-fi element is strangely familiar, Furey’s script is interesting and quite poignant in parts. Stephen Smith (who also directs this piece) plays the young man with a great deal of energy throughout his AI torture with the mysterious and at times rather annoying AI voice S.U.E (voiced by Millie Webber). This is a play that explores isolation (quite apt for the times that we live in) and it also looks at vulnerability and how easy it is to be attacked from malevolent forces hiding in plain sight. Smith’s character is intense and just a fraction overstated and I felt that the play was a touch overlong (mayb...