EDINBURGH 2023: Review: CASTING THE RUNES, Pleasance Courtyard

When a man falls to his death from a tree in the middle of the night, nothing is thought of it. His sister, however, thinks John Harrington must have died under suspicious circumstances after reviewing a book by a certain Mr Karswell, an alchemist. She tracks down Edward Dunning, a researcher, scholar, and professed sceptic of the supernatural, to warn him that if he keeps ignoring Karswell, the same curse might hit him.

Box Tale Soup adapt MR James’s ghost story into a play that has the same dark feel of a Penny Dreadful episode. Elegantly directed by Adam Lenson and featuring impressive puppetry and stage tricks, it’s a production of outstanding craft and storytelling. It’s titillatingly suspenseful but never horrid, the perfect show for those who are too scared to watch horror but love a mild spook. With flickering lights and a sound design that infects the mind, Casting The Runes is deliciously chilling and cohesive.

The puppets doesn’t come off as an artificial gimmick to ease the number of actors, but a brilliant narrative vehicle that enhances the atmosphere. It’s a simply exquisite piece of theatre that will appeal to a range of audiences.

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