Edgar in the Red Room

Hope Theatre

Playing until 14th February 2026

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Photo credit: Greg Giovanini

{PR gifted ticket}

The cause of Edgar Allan Poe’s death has been an enigma and has captured the imagination of many people for over a hundred years. The Shylock Project imagines the last moments of Poe’s life through a dark, thrilling and whimsical tale delivered using songs and narration. The audience is guided through Poe’s adventure through the Usher manor, culminating in his famous poem, “The Raven”.

Poe is portrayed through two actors, Morgan Smith and Sammy Overton. For the majority of the show, Smith is the narrator and responsible for the writing of the story in which Poe went through, with Overton acting as the Poe that traverses through Roderick Usher (Kilian Crowley)’s family manor. The separation of the two Poes, under the direction of Matt Chiorini and Maya June Dwyer, creates an effective contrast of two different personalities, while the narrator is usually more collected as they drive the progression of the plot, the Poe that had to go through the scenarios are visibly more restless and suffering the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.

The clear separation of personalities isn’t always maintained, and there are moments where the two Poes begin the synchronise, particularly on their story outside of the manor and when they begin to interact with the woman depicted in Poe’s poem “Annabel Lee”, a supportive and loving woman and the epitome of idealistic love. The script by Matt Chiorini and Greg Giovanini seamlessly weaves in Poe’s famous poems and fans are sure to be delighted by these nuggets of the poet’s work.

Projection of images is used wonderfully in this production, and certainly one of the key highlights. Designed by Lindsey Voorhees and John Czajkowski, images of key arts that capture the essence of Poe’s work are used to complement the narrative. The same could not be said for the set. The Hope Theatre is a small black box space and the production team has tried to incorporate significant movement, with characters traversing through a door frame being moved constantly to show the endless entry and exit between rooms and different locales. Rather than adding value to the piece, it felt more like a distraction.

Joining the Overton Poe in the manor, Roderick Usher is a deranged character that sees shadows in every corner, and plays a key role in Poe’s ultimate downfall. Crowley captures this odd and nervous character with perfection through his eccentric mannerisms. Surprisingly, he also delivers resounding ballads that is both grand and powerful. However, given the mental state of the character, the delivery of the songs is a mismatch to his nervous demeanour almost as if he is a different character altogether.

While the musical numbers in this show are both memorable and catchy, they don’t always fit with the narrative, and at times sound too upbeat and joyous when the narrative calls for something darker and sombre, for example, when Usher describes the Red Death and how his ancestor trapped and killed many people for his own gains.

This tonal confusion doesn’t sit with the music alone, and the narrative itself is also trying to find the spot in which it is most aligned to. It is at times serious and dark, then quickly switches to humour and playfulness. This constant shift in tone makes it challenging to create any kind of build-up and for the audience to settle into any particular narrative for a prolonged period of time.  In my view, the show could have ended after the woman in black (Maya June Dwyer), who plays a part in haunting and taunting Poe and Usher, concludes story as part of a Poe Ghost Tour. This would have been a more satisfactory finish than the extra ten to fifteen minutes added at the end.  

A whimsical and eccentric spin on Edgar Allan Poe’s story leading up to his death, Edgar in the Red Room is an enjoyable and a promising early development work. In an attempt to integrate too many themes into a single 70-minute one act musical, it has struggled to find the tone and the identity that it wants to achieve.   

Creatives

Writers: Matt Chiorini, Greg Giovanini

Directors: Matt Chiorini, Maya June Dwyer

Musical Director: Greg Giovanini

Choreographer: Maya June Dwyer

Production Designers: Lindsey Voorhees, John Czajkowski

Costume Designers: Kylee Galarneau, Katharine Tarkulich