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| Brittney Watson as Eli in Stray Cat Theatre's Let the Right One In photo by John Groseclose |
Horror is rarely done in the theatre as it can be difficult to accomplish and hard to translate on a stage. But these challenges didn’t stop Stray Cat Theatre from deciding to include Let the Right One In, a horror love story that originally came from a novel published in 2004, on their current season.
In 2008 a Swedish movie adaptation was released, then an American movie in 2010, and then the story was modified into a stage play in 2011. The production at the Stray Cat Theatre, which runs through May 4th, is directed by Stray Cat's Artistic Director, Ron May.
“I read the book and I’ve seen both film versions,” explained May. “The Swedish version I think is quite beautiful, they did a really good job because the book is, I hate the word epic, but the book is pretty epic. It’s a story that has stuck with me for a very long time. And I am not a huge reader but it spans and covers a lot over something like 700 pages. The American film we don’t talk about, I don’t particularly love it but I think that the Swedish film did an amazing job of really capturing the mood that the book had. So, I was interested to see what the play would do and I think that the play hues closer to the Swedish film and then takes more from the book than the film did. The fact that the play did it in such a unique theatrical way, it was a no brainer (to have it in the season). I knew we had to do it.”
The story of Let the Right One In is about a boy named Oskar who is bullied, lonely, and has revenge in his heart. A murder occurs in his town, a teenage drained of all their blood. A young girl named Eli has recently moved in next door to Oskar, but she never leaves the house during the day. Oskar feels drawn to her and befriends Eli only to discover her secret.
“It’s actually a really good love story,” May stated. “A messed up love story but it is a love story about outsiders, this young boy who gets bullied at school and doesn’t have any friends, and has a terrible home life meets this young girl. She is very strange and he doesn’t quite know what to make of her. It turns out she’s a 200-year-old vampire. There’s a horror element to it but it’s certainly not just a horror story, what keeps people coming back is the love story. It is almost like it is two souls finding each other.”
Just because it is a love story involving a vampire, don’t go jumping to any conclusions. The story is actually quite intense, with many challenges adapting jump scares, scene changes, and blood to the stage. But May picked this play to be in the Stray Cat season specifically because of these obstacles.
“I’ve gotten to a point where when I read something that reads like it is going to be impossible to put onstage, then I am more excited to spend 5 weeks in a room with people trying to figure out how to do it,” May explained. “Rather than if I read a play and it’s really obvious how you’re going to stage it. This particular script opened itself up to a lot of creative possibilities and problems to solve.”
The most creative effect that Stray Cat has accomplished in this production was bringing blood on stage. As any fan of vampire lore knows, in order for a vampire to stay alive they have to drink human blood. However, that's slightly difficult to visually translate to the stage. However, May and his crew found a way to do it.
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| Ron May |
And with that mysterious vague explanation, you will have to go and see the play to see what they have invented. The cast is made up a cast with many young actors, including several who range from 18 to their early 20s, and they have been tackling each challenge full force. Since the show does include some darker themes such as bullying and physical violence, they have had to be very intentional in their character portrayals and actions. May gave clear instructions when it came to what he wanted translated to audiences’ interpretations.
“We made a conscious decision that all of the vampire violence is very stylized,” May began. “The last thing I wanted people to walk out with was that the vampire violence was scarier than the bullying violence. The bullying is a lot more naturalistic and I would admit more brutal because it is what sets everything in motion. Oskar is out for revenge the whole play and when he meets Eli, her moral compass view on it is if you want revenge then just hit them back harder. When Oskar does it, he completely regrets it. It is a huge arch to the story and something that resonates on a different level now then it did when it first came out.”
Performances have been running since April 12th and will continue through May 4th. This enchanting strange story has something for all audiences to love.
“If you want to see some blood splatter on stage you are going to enjoy it. If you want a good jump scare you are going to get that, if you want the love story you are going to get that, or if you want something that is theatrically experimental you are going to get that too,” May detailed. “I love a weird love story. At Stray Cat Theatre you could count on one hand the number of love stories we have done. The fact that this one is so dark and so weird but still so beautiful and hopeful in the midst of this disgusting world...it is like this nihilistic environment where there is a glimmer of hope in it.”
“Someone said that they actually screamed during the show,” May laughed. “They said they didn’t expect to do that and they said that because of it and how intense it was that it was the most fun they had had in a theatre. There was another person who likened it to a haunted house. Horror is so rarely done on stage… I am excited to see more reactions moving forward.”
CLICK HERE for more information on this production, which runs through May 4
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