Presented By ThickSkin Theatre

Written by Tim Foley

Directed by Neil Bettles

Review by Hunter King

ThickSkin Theatre

Making live theatre scary seems to be a modern trend that many productions are trying their hands at. It also seems like a Sisyphean task that most theatremakers can’t fully get a grasp on. ThickSkin Theatre has tried their hand at making a scary performance with It Walks Around the House at Night, their latest production which played at the Tron Theatre this past weekend.

When Joe (George Naylor), an actor who is biding his time working at a local pub, is offered a large sum of money for a simple acting gig on the estate of one of his patrons, he eagerly accepts the deal, focusing on the brooding and sexy nature of his new employer over the mysterious and unusual gig he is signing up for. He must do laps around the estate of an old manor house each night, to seemingly try to scare his employers nieces, and after a week he will be given enough money to pay off his debts, and perhaps pursue acting full time. When Joe gets to the estate though, things end up being more sinister than he had expected.

At the forefront of the story is Naylor, who brings a relatable and fun energy to Joe. As the primary performer (and only speaking role) in the show, Naylor immediately convinces the audience of his naive, but excitable nature. Naylor plays Joe with an authenticity that often can be absent in horror media, having valid reasoning behind his decisions (there is no horror trope of tripping on tree branches or picking up sketchy hitchhikers here). Joe makes decisions that are often the wrong ones, but the reasoning behind them always feels legitimate and authentic to the character. His smarmy dialogue allows for audiences to relate to him with a zillennial humor that easily resonates. Naylor plays Joe with a golden retriever energy that makes the audience root for him, even when he is inevitably doing something the audience knows will end badly.

Tim Foley’s script does an excellent job of combining comedic and dread inducing storytelling for a piece that will leave audiences laughing and finding moments of levity, but inevitably also gripping the ends of their seats as the danger looms ever closer over Joe’s shoulder. The decision to run the show as one act makes for the moments of levity to feel earned and respected, while never interrupting the flow of the storytelling.

One of ThickSkin’s promises with It Walks Around the House at Night was that it would boldly use technical elements, including “inventive staging, immersive sound, and bold visual effects.” This is an element that they mostly nailed and did quickly become one of the most impressive elements of the show. Lighting designer, Joshua Pharo put forth an incredible piece that utilized darkness and shadow in an effective way, as well as used projections in a way that felt cohesive and never unnatural. Pete Malkin deserves immense praise for his sound design, which utilized mostly diegetic sound, making the audience empathize with Joe as he felt like he was being followed.

The show had most of the essential elements of a piece of horror media, and especially did well when it came to building suspense and keeping a pace that never felt like it was dragging or waiting for the next scare. One of the clear roadblocks that ThickSkin faced, however, was that for horror theatre to work exceptionally well, it usually requires certain elements of spectacle being well hidden. In most cases, It Walks Around the House at Night hid these elements well, but some stray light from backstage at essential moments did make some sneaky entrances and exits visible in the dark, lessening the effect of the scare, and in turn the effect of the overall piece. This, along with a very visible cable that was used for an admittedly very cool illusion, planted the audience firmly as an audience, dispelling some of the suspension of disbelief of the piece. Overall though, the performance was well done and had the exact vibe that is needed this spooky season.

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