Stepping into ‘The Twilight Zone’ at the Barbara Barrett Theatre
Halloween stretched a few days further this year, as the haunted holiday fun continued in November at the Barbara Barrett Theatre in St. John’s. School Zone Productions’ “The Twilight Zone” premiered on Oct. 31, with a five-day run in the capital city.
Adapted by Christopher Tobin from the original 1960s teleplays by Rod Serling, “The Twilight Zone” has been entertaining audiences on Newfoundland stages since 2012. Judging by the sold-out theatre, that tradition continues this year.
Presented in three acts, the extensive cast and crew of “The Twilight Zone” brought us on three separate adventures into the unknown, all prefaced by a floor-model TV set playing the eerie intro to the famed show.
With three shows left of its five-day run, this review will also lead you into the unknown, and entangle you in the web of mystery woven around tonight’s audience.
The first of the three instalments was “The Thirty Fathom Grave,” set in a submarine deep below the sea. The audience watches — and listens — as a crew of seamen endure continuous torturous tapping noises. The annoying sounds, like a hammer clanging off a metal pipe, are steeped in mystery. After the crew identified the source — a submarine that sank 20 years ago — the plot continues to thicken, and the clanging noises just get louder.
This particular tale, “filed under H for Haunting,” wrapped up neatly before leading us into our second act, “The Shelter.”
The lights illuminate on a surprise birthday party for Dr. Bill Stockton, thrown by his neighbours and friends. Little digs about his age soon turn towards Doc’s recently finished bomb shelter, a home renovation that his neighbours laugh at. The laughter halts abruptly when a radio announcement interrupts the party, issuing a yellow alert for U.S. citizens upon the detection of an unidentified flying object. The once-scoffedat bomb shelter is quickly a hot commodity.
Built just for his family of three, the doctor denies entry to his friends, who soon become not-so-friendly neighbours. While inspiring panic and malaise, this piece also acts as social commentary about how humans react to uncontrollable circumstances.
Last, but certainly not least, “The Fear” began after a short intermission. I was hoping for a good old-fashioned extraterrestrial story, and this act did not disappoint. With just two actors, “The Fear” boasted the smallest cast, the biggest set and, for me, the most intense fright of the night.
Former fashion editor Charlotte Scott recently moved to the countryside, not for a change of pace, but as an escape.
The audience is enlightened when a state trooper stops in to ask Charlotte about a mysterious sighting of unexplained lights in the sky the night before. Hesitant to tell her story in fear of being labelled as crazy, Charlotte eventually explains her reasoning for moving to the little town. Soon enough, the skeptical trooper would become a believer.
With a jump scare at the end, this was the perfect ending to a spooky show — I might sleep with a light on tonight, cuddling an identified fuzzy object. Happy Halloween!
“The Twilight Zone” runs until Saturday at the Barbara Barrett Theatre in St. John’s.