‘What the Dolls Saw,’ An All-Female Dark-Comedy, is Coming to the London Horror Festival

What the Dolls Saw at The Pleasance, Islington
Friday 18th October (7.15pm), Saturday 19th October (7.15pm) Sunday 20th October (2.15pm)

Praise for The Darklings, by the same writer: ‘Ridiculously funny… a Harold Pinter comedy with menaces.’

-Lyn Gardner

From playwright Nic Lamont, who has penned comedy for BBC 3 and BBC Radio 4 with The Twins Macabre (‘Delightfully freaky’ –The Telegraph), comes an all-female darkly comic thriller.

In What the Dolls Saw, three sisters reunite for the funeral of their father, who happens to be a world renowned Dollmaker. During their childhood, he toiled to make ‘the perfect little girl’, a legacy that still haunts the three women as they navigate their precarious adult lives. Megan is a children’s author, but who’s stories have become increasingly dark. Christine is an investigative journalist who wonders if her father could be her greatest case. Zara is a rebel who is just happy to see the tyrant in the ground.

Their mother, Rose is an ex child star who, as a life-long thespian, believes she is trapped in a Shakespearean tragedy. And then there’s Aunt Lilly… Rose’s twin sister who disappeared one crisp October day without a trace, leaving only a note that said ‘Sorry’.

A thriller that unravels like a true crime podcast. This a play about sisterhood, and the pressure upon women to fit into the perfect china mould. Not recommended for those with a phobia of dolls… or a fear of feminism.

Interwoven with shadow puppetry, and original music, the production is Inspired by otherworldly feminist stories such as those by Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood, and the surreal deadpan humour of playwrights Martin McDonagh and Phillip Ridley.

An All-Female Production
A ten minute excerpt of What the Dolls Saw was picked out of 250 entries to be in the inaugural Women’s Writes Festival showcase at The Arcola Theatre this September. This is the first all-female written, directed, produced and performed production by theatre company House of Macabre. The company have previously produced shows at Pleasance Edinburgh, Brighton Fringe Spiegeltent, Leicester Square Theatre, VAULT Festival, Fragility Takeover (Best Show Shortlist) and London Horror Fest. This show features shadow puppetry in a collaboration with award-winning theatre company Knuckle and Joint.

Nic Lamont – Writer

This is the second play by Nic Lamont has co-written for BBC 3’s Live at the Electric and BBC R4’s Sketchorama with comedy act The Twins Macabre. She wrote the book for new musical Gamechanger with composer Alex Beetschen which received a shortlisting for the Stiles and Drewe New Musical Award. Lamont’s first play The Darklings received a VAULT After Dark Award Nomination and was named as one of Lyn Gardner’s Top Picks of the Week.

Lisa Millar – Director

Lisa is a director at Urdang Academy and has previously directed the Auditions For series starring Wendi Peters, Newsrevue (Canal Café) Harpy starring Su Pollard (The Underbelly), Sketch You Up (Just the Tonic), The Darklings, Seven Crazy Bitches and Madonna or Whore at VAULT Festival.

Cast:
Zara – Sasha Wilson

Rose – Rosy Fordham

Christine – Holly Morgan

Belle – Rebecca O’Brien

Megan – Nic Lamont

Creatives:
Puppetry Expert: Rebecca O’Brien from Knuckle and Joint Composition/Sound Design: Odinn Orn Hilmarsson Promo/Image Design: P.Fysh Photography

Press for The Darklings

VAULT After Dark Award Nomination, Lyn Garner’s Top Pick of the Week
★★★★★ ‘intelligent horror of the highest calibre’ -Nicholas Vince (London Horror Fest Patron) ★★★★ 1⁄2 ‘a fearless, confrontational and darkly funny show’ –LondonPubTheatres

Press for The Twins Macabre:

★★★★★ ‘Blending the minds of The League of Gentlemen, the sass of The Rocky Horror Picture Show… with just a dash of perfection’ -West End Wilma
★★★★ ‘They make you laugh even when your skin crawls.’ -The List
★★★★ ‘A darkly hilarious, nerve-jangling comedy rampage.’ -Broadway Baby

Dates: Friday 18th October (7.15pm) Saturday 19th October (7.15pm) Sunday 20th October (2.45pm)

Location: Pleasance, Carpenters Mews, North Rd, N7 9EF (nearest tube: Caledonian Road)

More information: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/london-horror-festival-what-dolls-saw

The Festival: the London Horror Festival runs from 8th – 25th October at Pleasance

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