THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP – A PENNY DREADFUL

Jack Studio Theatre

★★★★

“joyfully madcap, full of twists, improbable developments, romance, and ghosts”

Packed with dead wives, werewolves, mummies, bleeding portraits, and more gothic cliches than the Monster Mash, The Mystery of Irma Vep is a hilarious and enthralling farce, brought wonderfully to life by the multi-rolling duo of Joe Newton and James Keningale. This revival of Charles Ludlam’s 1984 satire is a hit for Jack Studio Theatre’s Christmas production.

Drawing from Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca, the play relates the story of Egyptologist Lord Edgar Hill Crest (Newton) and his second wife Lady Enid (Keningale), living amongst the moors in Mandacrest, Edgar’s ancestral home, they embark on their new married life, haunted by the memory of Edgar’s first wife Lady Irma, whose portrait hangs above the fire. The couple are isolated except for supercilious and jealous housekeeper Jane Twisden (also Newton) and manservant Nicodemus Underwood (also Keningale), whose lovelorn, half-ignored proclamations are a highlight. As is the dialogue generally, much of which references gothic precursors including Shakespeare’s ghosts and Edgar Alan Poe’s Raven. The play lives up to its subtitle, ‘A Penny Dreadful’. Without wanting to give too much away, the narrative is joyfully madcap, full of twists, improbable developments, romance, and ghosts, while never missing an opportunity for an intentionally groan-inducing bad joke: ‘it’s a terrible thing to marry an Egyptologist and find out he’s hung up on his mummy’.

The chemistry between the performers sparks as they play the parts of rivals, lovers, or co-workers, and the quick costume changes between characters, especially towards the play’s climax, elicit an uproarious response from the audience. The impossibility of certain characters sharing the stage is played both for laughs and dramatic tension, and the bond felt between Enid and Nicodemus (both Keningale), which can never be realised on stage, irreverently explores the mystery of human connection. Kate Bannister’s direction encourages the performers’ physical acting to flourish, weaving in the stylistic hallmarks of silent movies and gothic horror, from the exaggerated gestures of Lady Enid as she circles the stage, to the contorted skulking of monsters lifted straight from Nosferatu (1922), which is especially satisfying. Lady Enid’s insulted half-turn towards the audience with chin aloft, and Jane’s haughtiness and evasion of Nicodemus’ advances are also particularly enjoyable. The fight direction by Gabriele Lombardo is also strong, allowing character to shine through in the movement.

The set design by Karl Swinyard, assisted by Lizzie Spinks evokes the primness of a Victorian parlour, complete with chaise longue and dour portraiture. The projections that shift the action first to an Egypt then to a ship—yet another gothic motif—makes creative use of the tight space. The lighting design (Laurel Marks) is simple but effective, particularly the blue of streaming moonlight, and Julian Starr’s sound veers from the eerie to the macabre. Costume design (Martin J Robinson) combines both period dress and, out of necessity, quick changing, and is extremely successful in both, a standout is Lady Enid’s red dress, with which she attempts to enliven her relationship.

The Mystery of Irma Vep is a great option for a festive outing that blends the aesthetics of gothic horror with the camp sensibilities of pantomime and is catalysed by excellent performances and lively directing.

THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP – A PENNY DREADFUL

Jack Studio Theatre

Reviewed on 11th December 2025

by Rob Tomlinson

Photography by Davor at The Ocular Creative

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BIG CRANBERRY | ★★★★ | November 2025

VERA; OR, THE NIHILISTS | ★★★ | September 2025

HAVISHAM | ★★★ | March 2025

IN THE SHADOW OF HER MAJESTY | ★★★★★ | November 2024

CAN’T WAIT TO LEAVE | ★★★½ | November 2024

MARCELLA’S MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT | ★★ | September 2024

THE MYSTERY OF

★★★★

“The quick cross-cuts and quicker dialogue give the play the propulsive quality of a thriller”

Big Cranberry, written and directed by Joe Edgar, is a play with ambitions even larger than its eponymous fruit. In its pithy runtime of seventy-five minutes it attempts to analyse the macro-economic systems responsible for ecological collapse, show their impact on the communities affected, examine the role media reporting plays, stage a debate on how best to make tangible change in a corrupted world – and do all this with enough tart wit and emotional punch to keep an audience gripped to their seats. To its great credit it largely succeeds.

It does so in part through its clever narrative framework. The play takes place at an after-hours cutting-room floor session in the Boston Globe, where investigative journalist Marianne – played magnetically by Molly Hanley – is having her piece of reportage on the ills of the Massachusetts cranberry industry stress-tested by her colleagues. The amount of information we receive is at first a little dizzying, but the snappy dialogue and dynamic staging, not to mention the brilliant chemistry on stage, make this nutritious but slightly bitter little morsel easier to swallow. The journalists read her article like a play, acting out the parts of Marianne’s interviewees, and soon we are slipping seamlessly between the office in Boston and her journey through rural Massachusetts. In the most striking of these transitions, the newsroom desks are instantaneously metamorphosed into a car, whisking Marianne away through the country night as she talks to her therapist – with no little dry wit. The quick cross-cuts and quicker dialogue give the play the propulsive quality of a thriller.

While the investigative element of the story is largely deftly handled, its emotional heart lies with Marianne, whose faith in resistance to the dominant systems of destructive power is sorely tested. On paper her character, like many of the cast, can be boiled down to a trope: the neurotic high-achiever with a pushy mother whose insatiable demands exact Sisyphean efforts in search of approval. But on the stage she inhabits the role entirely, and several scenes towards the end, one with rewilder Jeremy – whose character is also granted emotional depth by Xavier Starr – and another with her boss Gloria, are genuinely affecting. The use of stock characters, as well as the occasional clunky plot device, seem to me necessary anchors for a whirlwind of a play, and there are enough surprises in there to keep them fresh.

Ultimately, this is a slick, well-written, well-directed play with strong performances from all four cast members and good staging; Gabriel Finn’s lighting is subtle but effective. It won’t tear down the edifice of extractivism – what will? – but it may offer some desperately needed catharsis and hope for those disheartened by the lack of progress in combating the climate crisis – and its humour and dramatic flair are more than just a garnish.

Tag Archives: Jack Studio Theatre

THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP – A PENNY DREADFUL

★★★★

Jack Studio Theatre

THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP – A PENNY DREADFUL

Jack Studio Theatre

★★★★

“joyfully madcap, full of twists, improbable developments, romance, and ghosts”