We’ve all listened to radio plays before. Sometimes they are seen as being quite old fashioned. Not a great deal of people around my age (26) that I know listen to them. This is the first audio play I’ve heard of and listened to, that has been brought around due to the lockdown restrictions.
Being a massive horror nerd, I was very excited to review this piece. I was not disappointed. Elf Lyons is obviously a fan of horror. You can tell that from the first soundscape of this immersive audio version of her play. Inspired by the infamous Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, taking heavy influences from the Hammer Horror/Slasher Genre and dabbled with incredibly dark humour; Gorgon takes us through the story of a woman called Diana, who seems sweet, innocent and awkward but when she snaps, God help you. A mild-mannered taxidermist, struggling with some hard memories from her childhood, trying to balance her social life, relationship with a not-so-great gent; it all becomes a little bit too much. She finally explodes and the results of her anger are both gruesome and hilarious. I don’t want to go into the story too much as it will give away some of the brilliant thrills, chills, twists and turns of this horrifically exciting piece.
I’ve always struggled with differentiating characters in radio plays I’ve listened to in the past however, this is not the case here. Each character is individual and highlighted. Using their vocal talents; Elf Lyons, David Hoskin and Natalie Williams bring a vast cast of characters to life along with the eerily magnificent sound design by Molly Isaac. All of these talents combined bring together a visceral concoction of sounds that will make your skin crawl and dialogue that will move you one moment and make you laugh out loud the next. I’m not just saying that for effect. I found the hairs on the back of my neck rising, my body shuddering and my laugh bursting out of my mouth. I would recommend listening to the play with headphones to get a fully immersive experience. You’ll really feel like you’re sat in the room with them.
I wish I could have seen this piece in person. I have a feeling parts of the story and jokes would have worked better. I’m not sure how much of the show was reworked for this version. In my opinion, certain jokes didn’t land properly, and I got lost in parts of the story. There could have been a tad more description, a narration for more parts of this version. But being honest, this is going through it with a fine-tooth comb for these constructive points. If you are a horror fan, like a good laugh and to be creeped out then this is for you. I promise you won't be disappointed. This is a skin sizzling, flesh crawling comedy cavalcade of the macabre. Go and listen to it now!
Review by Nathan Elwick
Rating: ★★★★
Seat: N/A | Price of Ticket: Name your price!
