This is not your usual Alan Ayckbourn number - no sitting room, no laughs and, most surprising of all, no strong women's roles. No women at all, in fact: and yet a woman dominates the drama.
Haunting Julia is about a father who, twelve years after his teenage daughter's suicide, cannot let go of her memory. Indeed, he's bought her student digs and turned the house into a museum to celebrate her short-lived fame as a musical prodigy: "Little Miss Mozart".
We find John - Christopher Timothy, a long way from his days as a TV vet - showing Julia's ex-boyfriend Andy - a very quivery Dominic Hecht, her preserved bedroom. He believes it's haunted. Is it? Certainly there are some very strange goings on including a
Woman in White type moment when the former janitor of the house, Richard O'Callaghan as Ted, attempts to use his extra sensory powers to conjure up Julia's spirit.
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| Beware the dark spaces within... |
The Riverside's dark and spare Studio 2 is a good space for a scary turn. The dialogue could be tighter, but keeps you gripped, as does John's profound sense of loss which, coupled with his lack of introspection produces moments of true bleakness. Why would a child marked out for genius from an early age and celebrated for her music, take her own life?
In conclusion: A good, spooky evening in a dark and hidden space. If you have children, it won't just scare you, it'll make you rethink your relationships.
References
Michael Coveney in What's On Stage
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