Pontypool

Wales Millennium Centre

Cardiff

 

Words are more than just a tool for communication. When misused, understanding them can have dire consequences. But remove their meaning and they lose all power.

In Pontypool, not for the attempts of a local radio station, the townfolk learned this the hard way.

The play, Pontypool, is based on the cult horror story by Tony Burgess, centred around a radio station getting strange reports of riotous outbreaks and babbling crowds in the town. Originally it was set in Pontypool, Ontario, but this adaptation by Hefin Robinson, directed by Dan Phillips, brings it eerily closer to home.

Although there is no mention of Pontypool’s Ski Slope or Torfaen Museum, it sets the scene of a small south Welsh radio station ‘Beacon Radio’ as if it were in a building just off the high street. In fact, this station is where the entire show will take place.

The broadcast studio is a basement with one door to get in or out, a couple of storage cupboards, two ground level windows with snow piled high against them, and the sound booth at one end.

This is no high budget production with extravagant songs and dances and dynamic, ever-changing set designs. It keeps you locked in the studio, feeling like you’re a part of what’s unfolding on stage.

That’s not to say the show was bland or lacked atmosphere, the truth is quite the opposite. A brilliant use of lighting and sound throughout created the feeling of foreboding, like a scare was only ever a second away.

The main cast were convincing in each of their roles too, helping the uncomfortable feeling of realness that Pontypool conveys. Lloyd Hutchinson as the outspoken radio DJ Grant Mazzy, Victoria John as the ‘keep-it-local’ producer Rhiannon Briar, Carwyn Jones put in a stellar voice performance as the ill-fated weatherman Ken Loney, and Mali O’Donnel burst on the stage as the uni student/PA Megan Davies.

Psychological horror people, this one is for you. Pontypool is showing at the Wales Millennium Centre until November 16. It’ll leave you speechless.