POE

A ‘chilling decent into the mind of Edgar Allan Poe’ POE is a 50 minute piece devised by the three creatives behind Moonhawk Theatre that is one to watch for any goth or horror fan out there.

Edgar Allan Poe died on the 7th of October, 1849 in hospital after being found delirious in Gunners’ Hall a tavern in Baltimore on October the 3rd with his movements between then and his arrival in the city on September 28th being unknown and widely speculated about both at the time and today. Paranoid, catatonic and plagued by hallucinations Poe never became lucid enough to tell the doctors where he had been or what – if anything – had happened to him during those unaccounted for days.

Drawing from some of his most well-known works such as The Raven, Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Cask of Amontillado POE delves into his final moments, jumping between reality and fiction as ‘the line between story and storyteller’ dissolves.

Chris Bedford has a commanding stage presence and gives a powerful performance as Poe while Michael Ward and Leon Witcomb flex their multi-rolling skills as Shape 1, Servant, Policeman, Dr Moran and Shape 2, Fortunato, Old Man, Doctor respectively. Alongside the use of strobe lighting, projections of brain scans and voiceovers detailing Poe’s condition featuring John Lloyd the cast jump from Poe being discovered and hospitalised, to the narrators front room in The Tell-Tale Heart and the cell of The Pit and the Pendulum. Bedford and Witcomb were especially captivating in their retelling of The Cask of Amontillado; building tension and a sense of dread that only breaks with the arrival of Ward (as the servant) only to return two-fold with the use of a projected unfinished wall that the audience watches get filled in after Fortunato (Witcomb) is trapped behind it and pleads for his life.

Bedford’s heart wrenching portrayal of Poe's last moments – barely conscious and distressed – highlight that even the brief moments of reprieve from his psychosis wasn’t peaceful and juxtapose with his bone-chilling performance of Poe-as-narrator within the world of his own works.

Moonhawk Theatre’s POE is a compelling piece of devised theatre with moments ranging from the sinister to the humorous – the injection of Poe-as-the-orangutang from Murders in the Rue Morgue springs to mind – and a gentle introduction into multi-media style productions. A treat to watch, POE would be at home on the program of any horror festival, such as Abertoir Horror Fest or the Whitby Goth Weekend.

Attended 12th August
Edinburgh FRINGE: Venue 53
Surgeon's Hall

Poe’s life was shrouded in mystery, so was his death; this is not a biography but a haunting. Venture, if you dare.

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Further Reading:
The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe | Britannica
Inside Edgar Allan Poe's Mysterious Death – History Uncovered
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe
October 7th, 1849: The Mysterious Death of Macabre Poet Edgar Allen Poe

Cast:
Chris Bedford
Leon Witcomb
Michael Ward

Photos taken from Moonhawk Theatre's facebook page