Globe Theatre
Wednesday, March 18
The Globe Theatre was packed for Casketcase; A Podcast Style Horror, written, produced and directed by Chelsea McRae with Mario Sadra-De Jong (producer/composer and media designer) and Cody McRae (producer and technical manager).
Casketcase is the result of the ‘‘Good for her’’ horror genre, a sideshoot of the #MeToo movement.
The audience remained silent as an influencer character told the true story of a 17th-century poisoner heroine who met the need to release wives from their abusive husbands; probably some 600 men over 35 years.
The modern action plays out peppered with audience postings to successfully recreate the world of influencers. Podcaster Clare (played by Meko Ng) is suitably vacuous and the sponsors’ advertisements on her podcast are suitably horrifying, but her delivery failed to engage the audience, and the plot was heavily laboured.
However, as the play evolved to its highly predictable conclusion, audience engagement increased.
Full credit to Mitchell McCarthy’s portrayal of Logan, as he transforms on the way from mere bore to his highly dramatic fate, and to Kaiser Coles, who created Sam, a confident if bamboozled sound technician, for moments of light relief.
The programme notes are also a commendable production.
The subject matter, domestic abuse, deserves honest discussion and the sort of portrayal it is given in Casketcase. Though not a new phenomenon, the impact of abuse deserves appropriate legal redress, rather than resolution through murder.
As we are told, the most dangerous time for anyone wanting to escape from abuse is the moment of leaving.
Appropriately, the programme lists agencies offering assistance.
- Reviewed by Marian Poole
