Bone-Chilling!

The Bone House, a review by Andrea Noga.

Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy Jr… why do we remember their names, but not the names of their victims? Why are we so fascinated by murder, rather than repulsed by it? We are asked these questions in Marty Chan’s immersive, psychological horror play The Bone House.

The Bone House follows lecturer Eugene, and his assistant Jacob, as he walks through a history of serial killers and explores the fascination society has with brutal crimes. He introduces us to “Midnight Cowboy” a local, fictitious, serial killer who has been killing largely undetected– his crimes seen only by Eugene and a few witnesses who were not believed by the police.

Local actor Jack Walker stars as “Eugene”, the central lecturer, in a committed and steady performance. Walker captured the audience from his first word, and kept us in his grip throughout. Beginning as a calm teacher, leading us through the history of serial-killers, we soon learn how deep this runs for Eugene, much deeper than running a simple presentation. Walker portrays the evolution of Eugene with a clear eye, and a strong grasp on his character. Another memorable performance comes from Sarah Dolman as “Gabrielle”, an almost victim of The Midnight Cowboy. Dolman, who gives most of her performance with her eyes closed, relives the trauma of Gabrielle in a way that feels real and deeply personal. The audience aches for her, all due to Dolmon’s sincere performance.

The Bone House stands out at Fringe due to the immersive elements. Eugene is the lecturer, and we are the audience. The actors do not come out to bow, and you will be asked to leave your phone at the door (this is optional). There is active audience interaction, and you may even be asked to move during the performance. While I enjoyed many of the immersive elements, they appeared too few and far between. Especially within the central character of Eugene, I believed there could have been more opportunities to bring the audience into his world and interact directly. However, it still created for a unique experience.

Marty Chan’s script is still a work in progress, (they asked us to leave numbers for a feedback form at the viewing) however there is promise to the writing. Why are we fascinated by serial killers? It is a good question, and an entrancing premise to explore. Where the script lacks is landing genuinely unnerving lines. There is too much preaching in the script, and not quite enough horror. However, as it is, there is still plenty to make your bones chill.

How do you recognize a serial killer? Could it be your neighbour, your friend, your child? The Bone House tells us how we never really know the people walking beside us, and it shows us through strong performances, and a very, very promising script.

The Bone House plays at the Sugar Swing Ballroom.