This is one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever seen in the theatre.
Playing to an almost full theatre at the Tyne Theatre in Newcastle on 23 October, this play is clearly there to capitalise, in cash terms, on the growth of horror in the theatre. Ever since Ghost Stories, which Nyman and Dyson followed up this year with the excellent The Psychic in York, horror has had a growing presence on stage.
But Blackout has no business being on the same stage or being advertised as it is.
I speak as someone who was forced to leave after the first half because I had absolutely no hope it was going to get any better. Having already spent a considerable amount of money on a pre-show dinner and these overpriced tickets, it was just a chance to salvage what could be salvaged from the rest of the Friday night.
My understanding, from the one other review I could find online, is that it got no better at all.
It doesn’t help that it steals the title from another play, one that does claim to be an immersive experience and actually offers genuine blackout.
But this play has no writer, as far as I can tell, at least not one who claims the credit, and the most shadowy thing about it is its presence online. Finding anything about it or the pedigree of the production team is near impossible. “Prestige Productions presents” was meaningless to me after a Google search.
It opens with a clichéd horror scene and three terrible actors. Once that’s revealed, a few minutes later, as three actors rehearsing a horror play, I’m sorry to say that the script and delivery get no better. It’s obvious where there’s no writer because there genuinely seems to have been no writing process. Grasping at vague elements of ghost stories and séances just appeared witless and desperate.
If you are expecting a blackout, forget it.
The idea that horror peaked before the interval led me to believe that probably a local magician had been involved in the trick of blowing a few cards into the air and making a noise.
If you’re expecting Blackout, forget it. Expecting special effects? Forget it. If you’re expecting a script, do yourself a favour and forget it. Good performances? Dream on.
But this play is blatant misadvertising. Those of us who follow immersive theatre, and it often does sell well, expect it to be immersive. There were no immersive elements in this production whatsoever, at least in the first half.
There is only one other review online for this, on jackstage.co.uk, and it hits the nail on the head with its one-star verdict. Boldly given, considering the reviewer received a free ticket for a public-relations invite.
With effort and a complete rewrite, this might be reduced to a one-room Fringe script lasting 45 minutes in a fully darkened room, something that might actually deliver on the title. But I didn’t see anything left to salvage here. The ticket price appears to have been set for an immersive production that simply did not take place.
I sat among an unmoved audience, save for the occasional giggle at how pathetic the show we were watching was.
The only shocking thing about it was that it made it to a stage and onto a national tour.
This show does need a health warning, perhaps for boredom. The only shocking thing about it was that it made it to a stage and onto a national tour. It has been marketed heavily and overpromised with video imagery that bears absolutely no relation to what appeared on stage.
I’ve suggested to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House in Newcastle that a refund would be appropriate. I’m sitting here at the end of the week still waiting to hear from them. I’ll keep you posted.