Opera House, Manchester – until 26 October 2019
Reviewed by Sally Hopper
5*****
As a BIG fan of the movie, I wasn’t sure if the show would live up but it exceeded everything I thought it would be. From the cast, stage, lighting and sound it was amazing through and through. The place to start is the beginning, before everyone had even been seated the room filled with smoke and made to be cold, the perfect match with the set. A loud bang and plunge straight into darkness starts an encore of screams, perfect for building the tension straight out the gate. The stage in its Labyrinth style, created a 3 story house effect which was perfect and worked so well for the story. Regan’s bedroom was a highlight of the stage set up, in the silent moments it felt as if we were all in the room a part of the exorcism itself. The special effects that looked so realistic on the back wall, just gave an effect you can’t often gain from a stage show, a wilting Lilly as a part of the story was so well done. The window was also a really good aspect for me, the light pouring in as if from a street lamp and the curtains that had wind flowing through them when the window was open. The shadows which seemingly had no body making them were so creative, well placed and added to the atmosphere of the scenes.
The Cast were brilliant especially Regan herself played by Susannah Edgely, her performance was incredible going from a young innocent girl to the rude and vile possessed soul. It was so intensely believable, I felt at any second she was going to get out of bed and run towards the audience. Her screams to call the attention of the other characters was shrill and gave me the chills every time. With the booming sound of the demon’s voice performed by Ian Mckellen filled the room with a terrifying presence and echo.
Overall, I LOVED this production. I left wanting to go straight back and watch it all over again. As a big horror fan I will be looking for other movie adaptations and most definitely will be looking out for this show again. This had everything I was hoping it would have from the famous head spin (which I’ve still not figured out how they did) to the projectile vomit. EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING!