The Red Room – Greenside @ Riddles Court

The infamous red room of Lorraine Castle is said to be haunted and has seen the deaths of several people. But our protagonist (Ellie Ball) is a sceptic and, despite the warnings from the 3 castle inhabitants, has decided to spend the night in the room, alone. Or is she…?

The Red Room was adapted from a story by HG Wells (writer of The War of The Worlds, The Invisible Man, and The Time Machine, amongst others) by the performer’s sister Charlotte Ball. It’s told entirely from the point of view of the protagonist and on that single night (with a few semi-flashbacks through tellings of what happened to previous occupants), with only the performer, a torch and a covered mirror in the corner.

Ball is an energetic and likable performer, bringing both urgency and the occasional moment of humour to her performance. The script, though possibly overly faithful occasionally in its descriptions of actions the performer is doing at the time entirely coherently, lends itself well to the medium and venue, with the location being kept fresh through some effective lighting and sound changes.

The team has effectively brought to life this closed-room spooky story, using their time and space well to adeptly tell an old-fashioned (if less-well known) horror tale by a classic writer.

The Red Room is running at Greenside Riddles Court until August 17th. Tickets can be found at: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/red-room

Reviewer: Oliver Giggins

Reviewed: 14th August 2024

North West End UK Rating: