As we excitedly embark on another Fringe festival, we recall engaging with new artists and stories. Yet, there are also chances to revisit the work of Fringe veterans and ghosts of pop-culture’s past. You’ll get this in The Black Cat; an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s tale of horror, first published in 1843.
The tale’s well-travelled adaptors are actor Mike Penzak and musician Glendon Blazely. Penzak (The Narrator) delivered a monologue from a cell, recounting the events that lead to his incarceration. Blazely provided incidental music and sound effects, with a little singing.
As is practical for a festival venue with back-to-back shows, the stage is simply set. However, the elements combine well to tell the story.
Taking us back to the beginning of the tale, Penzak convincingly showed us the prisoner’s journey from a kind-natured animal lover, especially of the black cat “Pluto” of his marital home, to a man of fury and violence. Snappy lighting changes accentuated the character’s abrupt mood swings.
The “horror” of the piece is partly due to supernatural events following The Narrator’s drunken rage and a gruesome episode, and how this leads to his further moral deterioration.
The character’s states of confusion and fearfulness around inexplicable happenings were suitably enhanced by Blazely’s musical contributions, sometimes with an edge of malevolence, which could veer from the tuneful to the unsettling.
If we had to quibble, as Blazely sang of coming consequences for the prisoner, it wasn’t clear whether he was representing the penal system, or a more unearthly figure, or maybe a different character at different times?
Oddly enough, the performance took place on World Temperance Day. Statistics tell us there continues to be lot of alcohol-related violence in Australia. Whilst we know of literature’s enduring lessons, it was still a surprise to realise how little progress we’ve made since the times that prompted Poe to write this tale of woe.
The Black Cat is a well-performed cautionary tale, and its season ends on Sunday 6 October. It is somewhat heavy going, but Trades Hall provides various opportunities for a comic relief afterwards. One good option is another show with a short run: Twenty Million Thousand Leagues Under the Sea at 8:45pm (7:45pm Sunday).
The Black Cat
Festival Hub: Trades Hall – Old Council Chambers, Corner Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton
Performance: Thursday 3 October 2024
Season continues to 6 October 2024
Information and Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au
Image: Glendon Blazely and Mark Penzak in The Black Cat (sourced)
Review: Jason Whyte