Story, Production and Puppeteering by Sofie Krog and David Faraco
Music by Cuco Pérez
Tickets from £12.00
Every home has secrets: lovers, betrayals, lies, and desires. But within the walls of the Warehouse Family Funeral Home, one person's passing leads to the darkest secrets of all.
Throwing open the doors of this particular home, Sofie Krog and David Faraco allow audiences to peek into the sins and goings on of the Crematorium and family home on the matriarch's deathbed. But looking to forge the last will to benefit themselves, the real monster of this house is the cigar-munching wife of the matriarch's nephew, who contorts and manipulates the surroundings to her advantage. Powerless to stop her, it seems only the family dog and a pair of witless bandits stand in the way of fortune and dastardly deeds in this witty, comedic, highly visual piece of puppetry and visual storytelling.
This ornate and lavishly designed house is the perfect setting for a comically chilling adventure, one where every blink runs the risk of missing some small, gorgeous detail. Basked in some sharp lighting designs, the warm tones of colour and tile belay the selfish and cruel deeds occurring under this roof – one ripping the gold teeth from the deceased before their cremation, another pair looking to rob the place blind, a complacent nephew enabling all of these cruel deeds – and one lost puppy pining for their owner, all performed with unique movements and voices from Krog and Faraco.
Scaled hand puppets accommodate the home, often with hugely expressive designs or contorting facial expressions which go hand-in-hand with the exaggerated movements and horror elements (featuring some thunderously atmospheric, even hammy-Hammer-House-Horror levels of composition). As grim as it is inventive, Sofie Krog Teater's design work balances a thread of the grotesque and the cheerful – a perfect concoction for the visual aesthetics of the show, captivating enough to enchant, gruesome enough to give the audience a quick cut-through to characterisation.
The complexity and timing of the performance are what solidify The Houses' appeal and elevate the comedy into the impressive. From the lawyer's in-time strikes of their cane with the music or the brothers' Mission Impossible synchronisation, the dedication and thought put into the pacing here goes well beyond what the audience can see in front of them. Surprises litter the house too, which possess a few choice secrets with effects, lighting, and smoke to both raise a smile or turn the face to a grimace with the flick of a switch.
It isn't all timed precisely however with occasional set-shifts taking some of the momentum away from the audience – the fully rotational set piece is elaborate and striking, but the reverse can sometimes feel a touch under-dressed or reductive to the overall experience – only salvaged with some atmospheric lighting, or strong comedic routines between the possessed dog and the brothers.
If these walls really could talk, they'd tell of a house of horrors, one where audiences may just find a spark of something more touching, even awakening, amidst the slaughter and the laughter in this grim-comedy piece. Structured around dark comedy, Sofie Krog Teater's The House presents a sense of morality and family amongst the gasps and giggles with this compact and lusciously designed piece in the home for the innovative: Manipulate Arts.
Review by Dominic Corr
Editor for Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as The Skinny, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a panel member and judge of the Critic's Award for Theatre Scotland and a member of the UK Film Critics.
contact@corrblimey.uk
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