The Bloody Chamber

Adapted by Keith Lodwick from the book by Angela Carter

One of The Scotsman’s Top 20 Scottish theatre events of all time.

Edinburgh: 7th – 30th Aug 1997, 29th Dec 1997 – 10th Jan 1998
London: March 1998
Belfast: November 1998

A promenade performance which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 1997 and then Edinburgh’s Hogmanay at the Underground Vaults in Mary King’s Close, Edinburgh. In 1998 the production was relocated to The London Dungeon and Belfast’s Lagan Weir.

AWARDS

  • Winner: Herald Angel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre

  • Nominated: Total Theatre Awards: Best Use of Design & Best Newcomers

In this promenade production of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber we follow the journey of a young bride from innocence to corruption, bathed in the blood of her tortured husband’s sexual obsession.

The audience is led by torchlight deep into the dungeon of Count Bluebeard’s castle. Carter’s luscious and witty text is fused with sensual action and simmering live music, as the questionable delights and deviance of desire and curiousity are examined.

In each of its performance locations, Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh, The London Dungeon and Belfast’s Lagan Weir, The Bloody Chamber was the very first full-scale theatre production to have taken place.

The Bloody Chamber - programme cover
  • The Bloody Chamber - photo
  • The Bloody Chamber - photo
  • The Bloody Chamber - photo
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What The Press Said

“The London Dungeon in Tooley Street is the unusual and blood-curdling setting for an adaptation of Angela Carter’s Gothic passion, The Bloody Chamber… This production is rich in atmosphere and symbolism, the acting is highly convincing, and made all the more effective by the fact that the cast mingle with the audience as it is guided from room to room… one of the most original and enchanting pieces of theatre I have ever seen.”

“Told in the style of an adult fairy-tale, the electrifying production is superbly serviced not only by the haunting venue, but by a well-chosen score and superb stage cast… an enthralling play that lives up to the enormous potential of the venue.”

“In such proximity to the performers, you can hear every exhaled breath and hairpin drop. The detail of the production keeps you enthralled at its sheer originality. There are no lost opportunities to build tension through sounds, lights and live images which you pass by. The performances are exemplary and a wonderful live cello and piano score maintains the air of dreadful foreboding.”

“There was a palpable air of excitement from the moment the torch led us through the night and down, down into the vaults… Angel Carter, that mistress of the magical and the macabre, could have wished for no better a setting, and no finer an adaptation, for her re-telling of the Bluebeard myth than this electrifying production which made the most of its location… If you beg or bargain for one ticket this Fringe, let this be it. Utterly exhilarating, the pace never slackened until we were delivered, wrung out like rags, into the dark night.”

“Grid Iron certainly knows a good publicity stunt when it sees one. Its adaptation of Angela Carter’s short story begins with a promenade down the Royal Mile and continues on foot inside the Haunted Vaults. The audience is led through the inquisitive crowds by a mysterious lady holding aloft a flaming torch. Those not part of her group feel they may be missing out. They are… Staging the play in a cellar inevitably helps the unsettling mood, but it is the performers’ relish for Carter’s preoccupation with sex and death that keeps one alert.”

“The play is a promenade performance and, moving from one dimly lit room to another, you are beguiled by the tale. It’s an unmissable late-night adventure.”

“Grid Iron has led hundreds of people into thrilling close proximity with theatre of a very physical, poetic, and immediate kind.”

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Cast

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 1997

Groom:
Ralph Bolland

Bride:
Lucy Burden

Storyteller:
Claire Cochrane

Mother:
Sharon Erskine

Piano Tuner/Cellist:
Paul Duncan

Pianists:
Lynsey Thom, Katya Sourikova, Richard Beauchamp

Divas:
Liz Murdoch, Carol Stobie, Diana Kaybourne

EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY 1997 – 1998

Groom:
Ralph Bolland

Bride:
Lucy Burden

Storyteller:
Claire Cochrane

Mother:
Sharon Erskine

Piano Tuner:
Stephen Cafferty

Cellist:
Cora Bissett

Pianist:
Lynsey Thom

Divas:
Diane Caborn, Carol Stobie

THE LONDON DUNGEON 1998

Groom:
Ralph Bolland

Bride:
Lucy Burden

Storyteller:
Claire Cochrane

Mother:
Sharon Erskine

Piano Tuner/Cellist:
Donnie Gillan

Diva:
Felicity

THE LAGAN WEIR, BELFAST 1998

Groom:
Ralph Bolland

Bride:
Melanie Bradley

Storyteller:
Claire Cochrane

Mother:
Sharon Erskine

Piano Tuner/Cellist:
Donnie Gillan

Pianist:
Louise Herron

Production Team

EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 1997

Director:
Ben Harrison

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Adaptor/Designer:
Keith Lodwick

Composer:
Paul Duncan

Costume Design:
Bridget Webster

Metal Design & Sculpture/Stage Management:
David Crewe & Tudor Jones

Production Manager:
Jon Webster

Technical Manager:
Paul McCabe

Technician:
Nik Janiurek

Technician:
Andy Quinn

Stage Management:
Deborah Crewe & Laura Cockcroft

Stage Management assistants:
Anne Porter, Ros Leonard & Brendan O’Callaghan

Advisor:
Tricia McLean

Print Design:
Two Owls

Photography:
Colin Usher

EDINBURGH’S HOGMANAY 1997 – 1998

Director:
Ben Harrison

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Adaptor/Designer:
Keith Lodwick

Composer:
Paul Duncan

Costume Design:
Claire Cochrane

Lighting Designer / Technical Manager:
Paul McCabe

Metal Design & Sculpture / Stage Management:
David Crewe & Tudor Jones

Production Manager:
Jon Webster

Stage Manager:
Amy Shapcott

Stage Management:
Deborah Crewe

Technician:
Andy Quinn

Tech Assistant:
Helen Hazeland & Laura Watson

Advisor:
Tricia McLean

Print Design:
The Mighty Quinns

Photography:
Colin Usher

THE LONDON DUNGEON 1998

Director:
Ben Harrison

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Adaptor/Designer:
Keith Lodwick

Composer:
Donnie Gillan

Costume Design:
Claire Cochrane

Metal Design & Sculpture/Stage Management:
David Crewe & Tudor Jones

Stage Manager:
Amy Shapcott

Stage Management:
Deborah Crewe & Clare Spencer

Technician:
Andy Quinn

Print Design:
Two Owls

Photography:
Niall Pollock

THE LAGAN WEIR, BELFAST 1998

Director:
Ben Harrison

Producer:
Judith Doherty

Assistant Producer:
Barry Esson

Adaptor/Designer:
Keith Lodwick

Composer:
Donnie Gillan

Costume Design:
Louise Noble & Claire Cochrane

Lighting Designer:
Paul McCabe

Metal Design & Sculpture/Stage Management:
David Crewe & Tudor Jones

Stage Manager:
Amy Shapcott

Assistant Stage Manager:
Dan Sansome

Technician:
Stuart Nairn

Print Design:
Quinntessential

Print & Repro:
21 Colour

Photography:
Keith Brame

View Our Programme

To read more information about the show, including the Director’s Note and team biographies, have a look through our production programme.

The Bloody Chamber - Programme
The Bloody Chamber - Programme
The Bloody Chamber - Programme
The Bloody Chamber - Programme
The Bloody Chamber - Programme

Download our programme pdf here

Supporters

The production was kindly supported by the following…

Edinburgh Council - logo
Arts Council Northern Ireland - logo
The London Dungeon - logo

PLUS
Foundation for sport and the arts, Laganside Corporation, Out of the Nomad’s Tent, Grant’s Florist & The Cloth Shop.

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