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A Double Bill of Classic Plays 

Number Two, Melrose Square by Theo Gift & The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe


From the Creative Team of Lantern Light’s highly acclaimed ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Miss Sherlock Holmes’ comes a spine-chilling new show for Autumn 2021 - a double bill of classic Victorian ghost stories, adapted for stage by veteran writer Sophie Flack, with a new musical score by composer and sound designer Dan Skelt.

As Autumn leaves started to fall and Winter approached, Victorians would gather around the fire and tell scary stories, shutting out the cold and the dark, reconnecting with family and friends over terrifying tales. Both a reminder of the ever closeness of death and a celebration of the survival of life, these stories proliferated in the penny press and periodicals. 

One of the most popular of these was ‘Number Two, Melrose Place’ by Theo Gift (the pen name of Dorothy Havers) a writer whose was sponsored by Dickens himself. Her claustrophobic and terrifying tale serves as a timely warning to be wary of underpriced rental properties - particularly those with sinister servants!  And it asks us - are the monsters outside, or are they within?

‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is perhaps Edgar Allan’s Poe’s most famous story - a gothic masterpiece and exploration of the themes of loneliness, isolation, fear, madness and the relationship between the body and the soul. In our gender-switched production, the melancholy and terrified Rayne Usher sends a desperate letter to her childhood friend - begging her to come at once:

 "I fear that the period will sooner or later arrive when I must abandon life and reason together, in some struggle with the grim phantasm, Fear..."

The production is set in the Victorian period, with costumes, lighting, smoke effects and a brand new musical score - vividly recreating the feeling, atmosphere and texture of the original stories. 

Suitable for Ages: 13+

***** "Expertly told..." The Latest (Hansel & Gretel)
***** "Sophie Flack's superb sense of timing" View from the Gods (Flurry)
***** "Diana Atkins and Hayley Thompson are excellent" Manchester Audience Bulldog (Blu-Ray)
Arts Council Audience Feedback (Summer of Sherlock)
***** "A superb company"
**** "Excellent performances"
***** “We loved the show!”
***** “THANKS very much for a very entertaining evening!”​

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CAST & CREATIVE



MARY LIDDELL/RAYNE USHER
Sophie Flack

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Sophie graduated from Drama Studio London and is also a member of the Young Vic Directors Programme. She has directed shows across the UK, including Lantern Light’s hugely successful production of W.B. Yeats’ ‘The Shadowy Waters’ which ran to sell-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and its subsequent tour of the family show ‘Hansel & Gretel’. She has directed new writing productions with award-winning companies The Pensive Federation, Ghost Dog Productions, Theatre503 and the Brockley Jack, as well as providing the acting direction for BUO’s operatic production of Debussy’s ‘L’Enfant Prodigue’ and directing the physical chorus in Creative Reconnaissance’s ‘George & Friends.’
As an actress she has worked in film, TV, theatre and voice over. She can currently be seen in Howard Ford horror movie ‘The Lockdown Hauntings’ (East Asian theatrical release Summer 2021, USA release Autumn/Winter 2021); is the voice of Lt Nadja Savitskaya in audio drama series 'To Starlight We Come' and the voice of Kristina and Aurelia in upcoming American animation series ‘Lemon Drop Falls.’ Previous stage credits include: Helena in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (BSC Tour); Belle/The Ghost of Christmas Past in 'A Christmas Carol' (LL Tour), Poppy 'The Visitors' (Marlborough Theatre), Suz/Lisa/Pam 'The Cafe Society (Tour).

MRS CATHERS/NARRATOR
Kerren Garner

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Kerren trained as an actor at the London Repertory Company Academy where she was told she was a “natural director!” She took them at their word and has since become an Artistic Associate with Lantern Light with whom she has directed and acted in Hansel and Gretel and A Christmas Carol. Kerren is also an Associate Director and actor with Brighton Shakespeare Company, productions include: Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Much Ado about Nothing and The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Other credits include topical comedy show The Treason Show and new comedy ‘Would Like to Meet’. She has a love of classics as well as new writing and is always interested in pulling out for the audience why we should still pay attention to these stories and what they have to say about how we live now.
She is excited to explore the psychological drama behind these classic Victorian ghost stories as well as keen to see how gender swapping classic characters updates the stories for an audience in 2021.

PHYSICIAN (Voice) - Andrew Candish
VALET (Voice) - Joshua Plummer
MAN - Seth Morgan
GIRL - Ela Chapman


COMPOSER & SOUND DESIGNER
Dan Skelt

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Dan studied Multi-Media Studies at Worthing College and is one half of Two Bit Productions - a freelance production company producing films, music videos, documentaries and corporate videos. He produces and edits sci-fi horror podcast 'The Whispers Through the Static'. He is also the guitarist for indie band Outpost 3. He joined Lantern Light in 2019 for their array of productions in Summer of Sherlock and also created a thrilling and atmospheric soundscape for their new production of A Christmas Carol.

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