As part of last year’s Countdown to Hallowe’en I reviewed two books of scripts edited into prose from this phenomenally successful twice-monthly podcast. (LINK.) This year I had the chance to take things further and was given an opportunity to see the cast in a live theatre production visiting the UK for thirteen (how appropriate!) shows called ALL HAIL. The result was…. unsettling.
To see a modern cult phenomenon in action is rather unnerving. The first thing that struck me on arrival at the venue was how young everyone was. As a fifty-something male, I was definitely in the minority. Most of the audience looked to be in their twenties or thirties, half my age. Though I am a long-time veteran of conventions, this confirmed something that I had rather thought to begin with – podcasts, or rather this podcast, was mainly listened to by the young. Whilst there were adults there my age, these seemed to be mainly parents shepherding their youngsters to the show. This reflects the cultish nature of the podcast, though it is clearly not just for the young.
The second thing I noticed was that most of the people were clearly not casual listeners. Lots of conversations around me in the lobby and the bar area of the theatre before the show were about details of the podcast, beyond the usual basics such as favourite character, favourite episode, event, etc – and more about the finer, more obtuse minutiae of the series. Some members of the audience had dressed up in appropriately Gothic wear, others wore the usual informal outfit of the nerdy outsider – jeans, tee-shirt, casual jacket, shoulder bag. It was rather like a typical convention crowd – made up of both the animated and the outsider, lively and enthusiastic – but seemingly younger and perhaps more gender balanced.
On entering the auditorium, it quickly became clear that the venue of the production looked amazing. Built in 1873, and holding what I reckon was less than five hundred people, the setting was an old church hall, now converted into a Baroque gothic concert and conference centre. It was small, intimate and rather appropriate, something that looked like the set of a Hammer Horror movie. The performance benefitted enormously from this, as the stage props were, by comparison, rather spartan – some appropriately glowy lighting, a table and chair for the musician and his instruments and a couple of mics were all that was used – Pink Floyd this wasn’t.
But then that’s not what I was expecting. After all, to me one of the elements that makes Night Vale work for me is its intimate setting – it is meant to be a late-night radio broadcast produced in a small and remote community, a backwater small-town American settlement way off the beaten track – or at least way off the track usually trampled by humans.
This intimacy is also reflected in the production. The cast was as expected, a small ensemble of five actors and actresses, the background music composer and a musician, Erin McKeown, who not only warmed-up the audience but also performed in the programme’s ‘interlude’ as The Weather.
For fans of Cecil Baldwin (the main character and narrator of the podcast series), and many of the other ‘interviewees’ of the podcast, it was a treat to see the cast relatively up close and more personal. As well as Cecil and his uniquely mellifluous voice, other recognisable cast members were Symphony Sanders as Tamika Flynn, the well-read young woman in charge of the local teenage militia, Kate Jones as Michelle Nguyen, the owner of Dark Owl Records who vehemently disdains anything remotely popular (like record-buyers) and Meg Bashwhinner as Deb, the advertisement announcer and the “Proverb Lady” who reads the credits at the end of every episode. As with the podcasts, music throughout the performance was provided by Disparition, aka composer Jon Bernstein. The Weather was Erin McKeown.
The new script by the series creators, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, was, like the podcast, sharp, funny, full of genre jokes and witticisms, and generally appreciated by its knowing audience. There’s a great deal of audience participation too. Many of the usual elements of the podcasts were presented and received with applause – there were horoscopes, interviews and public announcements, all greeted with the cacophonous delight of many in the audience.
It was such a shame that such a clever and well-received performance was hampered by the physical acoustics of the room. There were times when, even with the use of microphones, it was difficult to hear what was being said by the cast. All too often, the background music, such an important part of the podcast in creating the ambience, drowned out the cast’s speech. This was such a shame, for had the audio been of a Pink Floyd-ian standard, I would have been able to understand the parts of the script that became little more than a mumble that I strained to hear.
However, it was also apparent that not all of the audience had this issue – just my bad luck to be in a place that was susceptible. Nevertheless, this did rather temper my positive response to the show, which otherwise was a treat.
In summary then, ALL HAIL is a treat that fans of the podcast series would do well to see. Whilst small in scale and modest in nature, the live performance conveys much of what makes the series attractive. Physical limitations aside, the production, both from the actors on stage and the enthusiastic participation of the audience, makes it a memorable, if other-worldly experience. Unsettling, yet memorable.
Welcome to Night Vale Live
UK Tour, September – October 2017
