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Home > Latest News > 2008 > 9 > 23 >

Seasonal shivers at the Tobacco Factory

 

Nunkie Theatre Company presentsMr James in Oh, Whistle
"Oh, Whistle..."
Two Ghost Stories by M R James
Performed by R M Lloyd Parry

 

The Tobacco Factory, Bristol
Sunday 23rd November
8pm

 

"...I gathered that what he chiefly
remembers is a horrible,
an intensely horrible
face of crumbled linen..."

 

This Autumn Robert Lloyd Parry brings a seasonal shiver to Bristol, with his retelling of two of the greatest tales by M R James, the master of the English ghost story.

 

Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad - a tale of nocturnal horror on the Suffolk coast - is considered by many to be the author's masterpiece. It is beautifully complemented here by The Ash Tree, a story of witchcraft and vengeance down the generations.

 

Every Christmas, M R James (1862 -1936) would write and perform ghost stories, to entertain friends in his rooms in King's College, Cambridge. A century later, these tales still have the power to terrify and amuse. This unique interpretation gives seasonal theatregoers the opportunity to experience these eerie masterpieces in the manner in which they were originally enjoyed - as ghostly confections, told to a rapt audience.

 

"M R James dedicated his stories to 'those who have at various times listened to them,'" explains Lloyd Parry, "and I try to evoke the tone and atmosphere of James' original performances. Reticence and suggestion are very important weapons in James' storytelling armoury, so the staging, the lighting and the delivery are all very straightforward - and, one hopes, all the more chilling for that."

 

Robert Lloyd Parry is an actor and art historian. He first read M R James' ghost stories as a teenager and his passion for them was rekindled when he began working at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where James was Director in the early 1900s. Since performing two of his favourite works in James' old office in the Fitzwilliam in 2006, he has pursued this enthusiasm around the UK, USA and Ireland, often performing in venues closely associated with the author.

 

Oh, Whistle... is the sequel to the critically acclaimed A Pleasing Terror, which toured the UK, USA and Ireland in 2006 / 2007. It was recently awarded The Dracula Society's Hamilton Deane Award.

 

"Lloyd Parry restores the charm and pleasure of the original tales with his excellent and convincing storytelling".
Cambridge Evening News

 

Suitable for ages 13+