The Ghosts at Barucone Manor is a society tale plagued by the undead. Eli Keren, writer of Hilary’s The Aleph, has moved from sci-fi to (parodied) horror. The ghosts are there on stage, spoken to by cast members with wide-eyed conviction, but invisible to the audience.
The play will slot into the Burton Taylor Studio’s 3rd week late shift after The Death of Maria and before the inevitable throngs of girls in cat ears take to Oxford’s clubs. The two plays will form a coherent Halloween duo – both are pieces of original writing which incorporate death and the supernatural.
The Ghosts of Barucone Manor hovers between mystery and comedy, employing all the haunted house tropes without trying to actually scare its audience. Newcomer Ruben (Harry Lee) arrives at his aunt’s mansion intending to stay the night: he finds two adolescent twins, Lissa (Emma Turnbull) and Flick (Izzy Renton), whose quickfire squabbling and dogged pursuit of their hand- some visitor add pace and comedy throughout. The household is clearly bored, and Ruben is delightfully unsuspecting of the humans’ infight- ing and the ghosts’ presence.
The housekeeper Baxby (Alex Wood) is the frustrated victim of the twins’ mischief, while the butler (Will Law) is a capable and watchable presence on stagee. Law adds gravity to proceed- ings with his plummy tones and mature man- ner. I only saw half of the hour-long run-time, but I’m told the relatively light-hearted opening will give way to a darker second half, boasting more ghosts and at least one murder.
Acting is sharp and dialogue flows nicely, especially between the twins; however, facial ex- pression is sometimes lacking and I found one exchange between Ruben and Lissa slightly jarring. Nevertheless, Turnbull’s Lissa is pleasantly unhinged, infusing scenes with Luna Lovegood whimsy.
The idea of acting to and playing off invisible ghosts is a difficult one to pull off on stage. Kate Bennett as Lady Barucone has to conduct an en- tire conversation with her fully sane nephew on one side and invisible dead husband on the other. The effect is funny but sometimes laboured, and the effect is slightly over-hammed.
However, in a week’s time, the cast will have communing with the dead down to a fine art. Go along and support Oxford’s new writing scene.
The Ghosts of Barucone Manor is playing from 29th Oct to 2nd Nov at the BT, tickets £5
