Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Lights Out at the Hermit's Cave (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

Lights Out at the Hermit's Cave comes from a place of pure fun. An ensemble of very good performers demonstrate over-the-top means "good" if done well and in the right context.  This company, The Hermit's Cave, stages in a dark room horror radio plays from the 1940s.  Not as radio plays, but rather acted out all around you the audience, albeit with a foley artist and live musician to add ambiance.  It works!  It works delightfully, even in a simple meeting room with most of the lights turned off.  I can only imagine how spectacularly this concept might work in a different environment--somewhere with brick walls, maybe a stained glass window and/or an alcove!  Of course this kind of thing just grabs the imagination of a Dark Shadows/Night Gallery fan like myself!  How not?  Given very little to work with by the constraints of the medium (remember these are twenty minute radio plays) the performers each created vivid characters and a compelling story arc in their genres.  I honestly hope The Hermit's Cave goes on to do bigger and most ambitious works!

This show, part of the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival, has closed.  Performances were:
Saturday June 02 2018, 8:30 PM (preview)
Friday June 08 2018, 7:30 PM 
Friday June 15, 2018, 11:30PM
Saturday June 16 2018, 5:30 PM
Saturday June 23 2018, 10:30 PM


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