'The Exorcist' review

Can the stage version match the fear of the film? Con Crowley reviews...

OUR VERDICT

Horror in the theatre adds another dimension. It offers live fear that transcends the stage, as every breath, movement and sudden gasp intensifies the experience of what you are witnessing.

This was certainly apparent at the Theatre Royal Windsor on the opening night of the stage version of The Exorcist as it embarks on its UK tour.

As we took our seats and the lights went down the figure of a grim reaper paced the steps of the stalls. Was this for effect, or a late theatre-goer looking for their seat? The nervous anticipation was palpable.

In 1973, the movie depicting the plight of a young girl possessed by the devil sent shock waves through audiences around the world but could a stage version match the fear?

Who could forget Regan’s bulbous eyes and revolving head, as she hissed and spat evil at anyone who came close? One minute an innocent child, the next a murderess who could crawl on the ceiling.

The film was adapted from a novel that was based on a true story of an exorcism of a young boy in Maryland in 1949. For playwright John Pielmeier, the challenge was to make his stage version, that followed the book and not the film, genuinely theatrical.

He says part of the attraction was the ability to tap into audiences emotional responses in a way that novels and films can’t quite match.

“The hardest part was figuring out how to keep the storytelling limited to a relatively small cast interacting in the various rooms of a single house,” he says.

His play was first performed in Los Angeles in 2012 but came to the UK in 2016 with its premier in Birmingham before transferring to the West End for a run that ended last year. It has received mixed reviews.

Now director Sean Mathias having changed some of the West End cast is taking it on a UK run that started in Windsor.

Certainly on the opening night the audiences expectation added to the drama and the special effects provided an unnerving backdrop to the story that certainly made me jump on more than one occasion. Flashes of light, darkness and clever set design and makeup made for some nervous moments.

There were good performances from Susannah Edgley as Regan and Paul Nicholas (Vince in the celebrated sitcom Just Good Friends) as the exorcist catholic priest Father Merrin with a recording of Ian McKellen providing the grave tones to the demonic powers inside the girl.

However, I thought some of the acting was a little rushed, with weak accents and a lack of drama that such a horrific tale should involve. In the end, it was more an entertaining ghost train ride than a nightmare-inducing experience but nevertheless, for fans of the story and horror genre, it is worth the trip.

The Exorcist, Theatre Royal Windsor September 4th to 14th and The New Wimbledon Theatre September 24th to 28th.