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Mr Monkey sees Count Magnus and Oh, Whistle... at the Lowry

Venue : Lowry, Salford
Tour start date: 24th October 2012
Tour end date : 17th March 2013
Visit date : 28th October, 2012
Mr Monkey found out that not only was Mr Robert Lloyd Parry of the Nunkie Theatre Company doing another tour performing ghost stories by M.R. James, but he'd added a fourth show, Count Magnus and Number 13 to his repetoire of performances.

Mr Monkey looking at the image for Oh Whistle... from the Nunkie programme The Lowry hadn't put up any posters, so Mr Monkey had to pose with a sinister image from the programme
Mr Monkey was even more delighted to find out that Mr Lloyd Parry would be putting on the two performances that Mr Monkey hadn't seen before at the Lowry's Studio theatre, on the same day, one after another. Mr Monkey immediately made his humans book tickets.

On the right day, Mr Monkey took a train to Manchester and a tram to Salford Quays, then scampered into the Lowry. When he was allowed into the Studio, and had worked out where the Studio was, Mr Monkey took his seat on the front row.

Mr Lloyd Parry started with Number 13, a story involving a Danish hotel room that only appears at night (along with a sinister tenant). This was followed by an interval and Count Magnus, in which a rather foolish Englishman accidentally wakes up an unpleasant Swedish nobleman who isn't quite as dead as he ought to have been.

There was a gap between the two shows so that Mr Rik could have an ice cream, and some of the audience could be changed.

When the new audience was let in, they found Mr Lloyd Parry apparently asleep in his comfy chair. After the house lights went off, Mr Lloyd Parry woke up and lit some candles, then told The Ash Tree, a tale of witchcraft and revenge. Well, revenge, mostly. After an interval, Mr Lloyd Parry came back to perform Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Laddie, one of Mr Monkey's favourite M.R. James stories. This grim tale demonstrates the foolishness of blowing whistles you've just dug up in the ruins of a Templar preceptory and has a dramatic climax including an assault by a possessed bedsheet. Amazingly, Mr Lloyd Parry recreated this with just a hankerchief, and was thoroughly frightening.

Mr Monkey really likes having ghost stories read to him, especially by candlelight, and recommends Mr Lloyd Parry's one-man shows to anyone with similar tastes. He wouldn't recommend walking on the beach or occupying room 12 in a hotel afterwards, though.

Robert Lloyd Parry is touring England until March 17th 2013.

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