WELL-known for knockabout comedies, showstopping singalongs and princely pantomimes, Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society is swapping scripts for something straight.
In fact, BATS is really pushing back the boundaries, going from side-splitting in your face humour to a tale of subtle, psychological terror.
The Haunting of Hill House has earned its place as one of the significant haunted house stories of all-time.
From the 1959 published novel by Shirley Jackson, it has been made into two films: the first (The Haunting, 1963) was a well-respected effort by film director Robert Wise, which closely followed the intentions of the book, the second was a remake in 1999.
Adapted for the stage by F. Andrew Leslie, BATS director Gordon Lawson said it was time to provide another avenue for both actors and audiences to tread and he had read Jackson’s book and seen the film.
“The first time I saw it was when I was a child in black and white and it scared the pants off me,” he explained.
“Although, you never see any ghosts, it’s about the light and the sound.”
Cut off from the outside world by its remote location and shunned by all who know its forbidding and sinister reputation, Hill House has remained empty and silent for 80 years.
Its isolation is broken by the arrival of Dr Montague, an investigator of supernatural phenomena who has been granted a short lease by the present owner.
His mission is to delve into the morbid history of Hill House and to come to grips with the forces which have made it uninhabitable for many years.
He is joined by three others, all unacquainted, but all having their particular reason for accepting Dr Montague’s invitation to share his investigation into Hill House.
Below is a visual record of this production....
In fact, BATS is really pushing back the boundaries, going from side-splitting in your face humour to a tale of subtle, psychological terror.
The Haunting of Hill House has earned its place as one of the significant haunted house stories of all-time.
From the 1959 published novel by Shirley Jackson, it has been made into two films: the first (The Haunting, 1963) was a well-respected effort by film director Robert Wise, which closely followed the intentions of the book, the second was a remake in 1999.
Adapted for the stage by F. Andrew Leslie, BATS director Gordon Lawson said it was time to provide another avenue for both actors and audiences to tread and he had read Jackson’s book and seen the film.
“The first time I saw it was when I was a child in black and white and it scared the pants off me,” he explained.
“Although, you never see any ghosts, it’s about the light and the sound.”
Cut off from the outside world by its remote location and shunned by all who know its forbidding and sinister reputation, Hill House has remained empty and silent for 80 years.
Its isolation is broken by the arrival of Dr Montague, an investigator of supernatural phenomena who has been granted a short lease by the present owner.
His mission is to delve into the morbid history of Hill House and to come to grips with the forces which have made it uninhabitable for many years.
He is joined by three others, all unacquainted, but all having their particular reason for accepting Dr Montague’s invitation to share his investigation into Hill House.
Below is a visual record of this production....
