Old Red Lion Theatre – until 26 July 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
Riley Elton McCarthy’s slow burn horror has many chilling moments and sly dark humour.
Playwright Sloane (Riley Elton McCarthy) has returned to their dying grandmother’s house a month after their father’s death to care for her. Husband Gwyn’s (Matthίas Hardarson) arrival doesn’t distract Sloane from their writing, but when Beckham (Daniel Neil Ash) turns up to help with the house’s listing, secrets and tensions between the trio – and a deeper, darker sense of dread permeating the house – begin to take their toll.
The slow burn set up is perhaps a little too slow and expositional setting up the history between non-binary Sloane, bisexual Gwyn, and Gwyn’s ex Beckham. Sloane’s father didn’t come to their wedding, so trauma is hinted at, but the true depths of the family’s secrets aren’t revealed until much later. When the facts are revealed, it raises questions about why Sloane hasn’t shared this information with Gwyn. Sloane’s time in the house may have affected them before Gwyn arrives, as after confrontations, they ask how that monologue was and frantically scribbles their words down trying to complete their play. While Beckham creates sarcastically enthusiastic videos describing various aspects of the house, he becomes more uncomfortable and concerned with the effect living there has on Gwyn, and amid thunder and lightning and electricity blackouts, Becks’ quips provide the laughs to break the tension. The haunted house trope is skewed nicely – we get weirdly acting neighbours (Ashley M. Cowles), possessed sleepwalking, a séance and an ever-changing portrait of the never seen grandmother dying in the next room while Gwyn’s history with Beckham and Sloane ensures a level of psychological warfare between the pair as Sloane tries to get Beckham to admit the truth.
The cast all impress, with great chemistry and excellent timing. Elton McCarthy is almost otherworldly as Sloane, playing their drive, obsession/possession and loss sensitively. Georgie Rankcom’s inspired direction allows the house and Sloane to almost meld together as both start to fight against Beckham’s presence. Verity Johnson’s set oozes dilapidated and decaying character and Skylar Turnbull-Hurd’s lighting and Adam Lenson’s sound design create an increasingly eerie atmosphere and jump scares. As Sloane’s grandmother’s portrait changes, so does Sloane, and the third act gets satisfyingly demonic as the cellar door is finally opened.
A chillingly atmospheric horror that builds to a thrilling climax – Ivories is well worth a look.