A whole lot of scary, rolled into one

It is the season for dressing up and taking on a different persona, but there is one place where dressing up as someone else is always called for: the theatre.

The latest performance by the Quinta theatre group at Theatro Dentro in Nicosia until March 12, is one where the make-up is heavy, the hairdos are big and the costumes complete the somewhat scary theme of the play The Mystery of Irma Vep.

The three-act play, by Charles Ludlam, is a satire of several theatrical, literary and film genres. These include Victorian melodrama, farce, the penny dreadful, Wuthering Heights and the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film Rebecca. The title of the play is the name of a character in the 1915 French movie serial Les Vampires and is an anagram of the word vampire.

This maybe a play that covers lots of ground when it comes to genre, theatrical references and well-known stories, but it is written for two actors who play eight characters between them. The two actors in this production are Evagoras Theodosiou and Yiannis Tsourounakis, and they both take on male and female roles. These two actors have many costume changes throughout the nearly two-hour show and also have to follow a number of sound cues, work with the many props, while also making sure the references to vampires, ghosts, mummies and werewolves come across.

Commenting on the play, which opened in New York in 1984, Ludlam said he wanted the play to take a serious form in that it focuses on “those things held in low esteem by society and revaluing them, giving them new meaning, new worth, by changing their context.”

Keep your eyes on the two actors because things will move very quickly, and maybe see if you can recognise all the references made to keep you from jumping off your chair from time to time.

The Mystery of Irma Vep
Performance of the play by Charles Ludlam. Until March 12. Theatro Dentro, 44 Enotitos Street, Palouriotissa, Nicosia. Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8.30pm. € 15/10. In Greek. Tel: 70-006069

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