Five years ago, I penned a four star review of a Quarantine production that took place in a corn…read morefield. This year I'm updating with another four star salute and I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum. If you're on the fence about buying a ticket, forget my rating, read this description and ask yourself if the play (not a traditional haunted house) sounds like your cuppa blood, er, tea.
If you're familiar with Quarantine's previous work, you know they've tackled some scary scenarios, from aliens to a zombie apocalypse, in performances that break the fourth wall and ask the audience to actively participate in the slaughter. It's great fun, somewhat freaky, super immersive. In 2019's "Fantasmagoria" (great title, yo), they've perhaps regressed and lept forward; the fourth wall has re-erected -- there's no audience interaction, here -- and the theatrical performance has been enhanced. Now playing in a fully furnished Victorian home (amazingly, in a warehouse on a dark street in a spooky area of the city), the set is impressive, the storyline more involved than ever, acting is sharp and intense, you're going to see a play that literally moves.
A format all the rage in larger cities, "Fantasmagoria" splits the audience into groups who follow various characters about the house, witnessing scenes that build the dramatic tension that ultimately leads to the bloodletting. Some of it works, some feels like filler, but you're never wandering far from the central narrative. If you're into this kinda thing, they offer a fun, inexpensive way to return and get an entirely new tour of the carnage. I keep dropping in bloody metaphors, but really, this is a very tame show -- no jump scares, I'd let my 9 year-old do it, if she asked. Ultimately, I was impressed with the commitment to the material, particularly by a few notable performers, and I consider this show a terrific way to welcome the Halloween tradition of great haunted houses back for another season.
Now, where are the chainsaws and zombies, already?
