⭐⭐⭐
A trip to the Mill at Sonning is always a bit of a treat. The setting is beautiful and the concept is cleverly executed, a meal and a show package. Why let your customers eat and drink elsewhere beforehand, when you have the space to provide this yourself, and such a beautiful space too? The ticket price includes a two course meal, a very decent buffet main course and a waiter served dessert with plenty of choice and tea or coffee. There's a Scottish themed menu for The Whistling featuring salmon with a cream whisky sauce, tatties and neeps, and cranachan for dessert (though not as good as the one I make!)
This is due to change from March next year to full waited service, which will have two advantages; 1) no queuing for the buffet, 2) less food waste especially if patrons pre-order their food.
The venue itself is both beautiful and sustainable, with the water wheel from the original flour mill providing the electricity to the theatre. Oh, and there's the little matter of George Clooney living next door. We've not glimpsed him yet on any of our visits, although evidently he does turn up to Storytime from time-to-time to read to the children. How amazing must that be?
The Whistling is a bit of a departure from the normal Sonning production schedule of classic musicals, plays and farces. It's a new play adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, billed to be a mixture of a horror and whodunnit. Wagstaff and Abel have a great track record of literary adaptions, having previously brought The Girl on the Train and The Da Vinci Code to the stage. I hadn't read the book by Rebecca Netley, and was glad that I hadn't, as I wanted to come to the play fresh and hoping to be suitably scared. I was expecting something akin to the Woman in Black.
The Whistling is set on the fictional Scottish island of Skelthsea, in the gothic Victorian era. We follow grieving Elspeth (played by Rebecca Forsyth) as she arrives to be nanny to voluntarily mute Mary (played alternately by Sophie Bidgood, Ivy Evans and Saffron Haynes). As the story unfolds we get to learn what has happened to cause the trauma, and we learn of Elspeth's trauma too. Both are grieving for siblings, and Mary also for her mother. With the threat of asylum admission over Mary's head from her aunt, the pressure is on Elspeth to get to the bottom of what happened that's cause so much trauma.
Skelthsea, like most Scottish islands, is deeply religious. So it's a surprise to find the local herbalist/witch (played sympathetically by Heather Jackson) working with the minister to do the work he will not. It's worth saying that Jonny McGarrity as the only male actor in the ensemble does a great job of playing 3 roles; the rather unpleasant Paterson, the likeable Robert the minister, and the Doctor.
Illusionist Guy Barrett provides both jump scares and softer creepy effects, I don't want to say too much about these, but I did jump at least twice. There are also gentler moments with the illusions, and I think that the whole audience was enthralled with the moth release.
As ever, Natalie Titchener's costumes are spot on. The cast are clothed darkly, even the tartan based on the Glen Affric tartan is subdued. When we finally get to see Hettie, the previous nanny (played in the shadows by Nadia Kramer), she is the contrast.
The play makes brilliant use of dark colours and lighting to maintain a sinister, oppressive atmosphere. The set is drenched in shadow, adding to the feeling that something is lurking just out of sight. The scene movers add another layer of suspense, with sliding set pieces, Diego Pitarch’s set design manages to create a sense of the huge house, the beach and the sea.
However, while the play delivers thrills, it occasionally feels a bit drawn out. There were moments where the pace slowed and it left you wishing for a tighter, punchier conclusion. Still, the overall effect remains satisfying, especially for fans of the horror-mystery genre, and fans of a truly lovely theatre experience.
When: now until 16th November
Where: The Mill at Sonning Theatre
Sonning Eye, Reading, RG4 6TY
Comments