'Carmilla' a showpiece

Press, 2 April 1979, Page 6

'Carmilla' a showpiece

By howard McNaughton “Carmilla,” by David Campton. Directed by Shirley Caddick for the Riccarton Players; Wharenui School Hall, Matipo Street, March 31 to April 7. Running time: 8 p.m. to 9.55 p.m. “She is laughing. Even in heli, she is laughing,” observes Captain Field as, in the closing scene, he hammeis a wooden stake through the heart of Carmilla, watched by a number of anxious, interested parties. Thus, Field apparently solves the local vampire problem, and also gives a pleasing sense of completeness to a play that started with a similar feat of open-heart pile-driving. However, the Captain’s mission may not be that simple. Laura, Carmilla’s latest victim, looks more than half convened, and in Re-

becca Hart’s intense treatment she seems headed for no easy cure. And, if the victim of a vampire also becomes a vampire, there remains a lot of work for the Cantam’s wooden stake among the anaemic peasantry.

The concentration and commitment that the Riccarton cast has brought to this play mean that they overrun the resolution that Campton scripted — and the play becomes so much the better for that. On virtually a bare stage, witth minimal decor, Shirley Caddick’s cast animates the forces of evil with a convicton that is not easily suppressed: the Captain’s naivety in expecting to become a civic hero for nailing a stake through his fiancee’s heart becomes almost laughable, and the sinister scenes in the cemetery, the Kaimstein ruins, and the chapel spread their atmosphere far beyond the territories of Transylvania.

Rebecca Hart’s acting relationship with Alison Jacobs (in the title role) is a creditable achievement which sustains the mood of a thriller without faltering; Glenda Cooke and Janet Jamieson give effective contrast in the other female parts. Vampirism is traditionally women’s territory, but Max Sullivan and Paul Harrington give sinister overtones to the parts of the Colonel and the

Doctor, while Warren Bennie’s sprightly tenor voice is ideal for the Captain’s heroics and for his scenes in disguise as a mountebank. In general, this cast coheres well, but on Saturday the early scenes were a little rushed, so that some aspects of the exposition were unclear. Certainly, this production would have an even greater impact if the budget allowed greater design resources. But, within the obvious limitations, the over-all achievement is remarkable: Phyl Stables’s wardrobe is more than adequate, Doug Clarke’s lighting is excellent, and the sound effects, by Warren Bennie and Simon Hill, are perfectly judged and contribute greatly to the impact of the whole production.

This production thoroughly deserves to be supported by Riccarton and beyond, especially as it makes an excellent showpiece of what the Players can achieve through performance skills alone — a very worthy and popular fund-raiser for their new theatre which with borough support, is now close to becoming a reality.