“The Bone House” to plunge audiences into a world of spook

What: The Bone House
When: October 25-31, 2018
Where: Varscona Hotel on Whyte
Tickets: $32.09

Playwright: Marty Chan
Director: Jennifer Krezlewicz
Featuring: Lew Wetherell, Jason Hardwick, Nicole Grainger
Stage Manager: Elizabeth Grierson
Director of Photography: Montana Burkin

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An opportunity to delve deep into the psyche of a serial killer is coming to Edmonton audiences just in time for Halloween.

Jennifer Krezlewicz’s production of Marty Chan’s The Bone House is sure to be among the most terrifying theatre experiences of the season.

Eugene Crowley, a self-proclaimed mind-hunter, is attempting to expose a vicious serial killer who has eluded authorities for 19 years: the terrifying and mysterious figure known only as the Midnight Cowboy, who has left a trail of bodies in his wake. Some think him to be an urban legend, the killings too numerous to be those of a single murderer. But Crowley disagrees.

According to Chan, one of the play’s most intriguing elements is how it taps into our cultural fascination with serial killers. The play explores how this fascination glorifies some of the most heinous among us, and how our cultural representations of serial killers diverge from reality.

“Serial killers are just normal-looking folks, and that’s how they can get away with their body count,” Chan says.

The play’s macabre ambiance is bolstered by its atypical venue: the Rutherford Banquet Room of the Varscona Hotel. Krezlewicz’s direction uses the environment to unnerve the spectators and do away with the distinction between audience and performer.

“We don’t have a stage that lends to a feeling of [safety],” Krezlewicz explains. “It makes it a lot more fun for us to plan out how we’re going to get the best scare.”

Chan and Krezlewicz say The Bone House’s immersive nature and the intimacy of the venue make each performance a unique challenge for the cast. It requires the actors to not only trust the script, but the audience as well.

“There’s a vulnerability that the actors have to go to in this piece, and it’s very scary for an actor to be like ‘I have to be that raw?’” Krezlewicz says. “It’s a huge emotional journey that a few of the actors have to take.”

Chan and Krezlewicz warn that The Bone House is not recommended for the faint of heart, noting that showings of the play come accompanied by the frightened screams of theatregoers. Krezlewicz notes that there are opportunities to exit the show — but she cautions that those who do will miss out on all the fun. Likewise, Chan says The Bone House is a unique theatrical experience one shouldn’t miss.

“All your preconceptions of what theatre is, just park them at the door,” Chan says. “Think of this as a really cool experience that you’ll never have in any venue ever again.”