EDINBURGH 2021: Review: DARK SPIRITS, BLACK HUMOUR, Assembly Showcatcher

Filmed in a downtown Los Angeles bar, Dark Spirits, Black Humour is a piece of digital theatre that aims to recreate the atmosphere of a pub on a wet night. Performed through Zoom, the show opens with writer and performer Mark Jude Sullivan going over some technical information about how to have the best experience through the platform. It's optional to have your camera turned on but strongly advised.

The setting of the bar is very typical of the type you would find in old town Edinburgh. Sullivan acts as the bartender as well as storyteller for the evening and talks his way through making a cocktail with great passion for the ingredients and the meaning behind them.

Sullivan is a captivating storyteller and I was gripped from the moment Dark Spirits, Black Humour started. He tells a tale that begins on a night like this, in a pub like this. Setting the scene and describing an open fire he talks about the first time he sat down for a drink with Jimmy. Jimmy was a well known British actor and this young actor has the opportunity to work with him in a minor role in a limited run in London.

It's a ghost story and the pub is the perfect setting for it. There are no jump scares and nothing is particularly disturbing- it's just delightfully spellbinding and gripping throughout. Sullivan is incredibly skilled at weaving a tale and the hour-long run time flew by. I cannot recommend this spooky story highly enough.

Dark Spirits, Black Humour is available live on demand through Assembly Showcatcher.

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