Something Wicked

Ray Bradbury is one of America’s greatest writers. He is a master of almost every style, form and genre, and he has been published a hundred times over. Something Wicked This Way Comes is considered by many to be one of the jewels in his crown.

Set in an American small-town during the 1940s, the story is a coming-of-age tale that mixes teenaged angst with a battle of good vs. evil against supernatural forces. Two boys encounter danger when a sinister carnival comes to town, leading them through an adventure as they try to elude the carnival’s owner, Mr. Dark. What follows is a morality tale that sees temptation either result in the triumph or downfall for the story’s main characters.

The play, a co-production with Catherine Wheels and the National Theatre of Scotland, is sharp. It’s smooth, looks great and contains some wonderful performances, chiefly from Andrew Clark’s Mr. Dark and Graham Kent’s Mr. Halloway. The ensemble has the task of playing multiple characters, mostly executed with success. However, the hardest job falls to Michael Gray and Patrick Mulvey who play the boys. While they are good, both as their individual characters and in showing a believable friendship, at times they have the tendency to act a little immaturely for 13 year olds.

Creating a production that’s an adaptation of an epic novel is quite a feat, and director Gill Robertson mostly rises to the challenge. The source material asks quite a lot for the constraints of a theatre, including a mirror maze that shows characters their desires, a carousel that ages and rejuvenates people and a principle character that must fly. It’s easy to criticise the few mistakes in the staging, but for every aspect that stumbles there are at least three things that succeed.

However, if the production has a flaw, it is in the fact that it is too…nice. At its heart, Something Wicked is a terrifying story where evil almost always has the upper-hand. While there are some chilling moments, the production never feels scary. All of the required seeds have been sown for an effective production, but it feels as if the truly dark and frightening aspects were purposely prevented from bearing ripe fruit. Even the most horrifying moments and characters have been watered down by overt theatrics and hints at pantomime. Because of this, ‘good’ doesn’t triumph; it merely manages to brush ‘evil’ away.

Something Wicked is a good production that should please both fans of the novel along with fresh audiences. Still, with its talented creative team, it feels as if everyone is pulling their punches, resulting in an experience that is satisfying but not nearly as fulfilling as it could have been.