Review: The Whistling (The Mill at Sonning)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️

Trips to The Mill at Sonning just outside of Reading are usually a fairly safe bet. Their programming is predominantly full of revivals of classic plays and musicals with recent productions including Bedroom Farce, Three Men In A Boat and High Society. So imagine my surprise when it was announced they were mixing it up a bit for their next title with the world premiere of a new horror with The Whistling arriving just in time for spooky season. Would this bold approach pay off or would it be a case of if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?

Based on the novel by Rebecca Netley, this world premiere stage adaptation of The Whistling is set on the fictional Scottish island of Skelthsea in the 1860s where Elspeth arrives to become a nanny to a young child. After learning that the child, Mary, hasn’t spoken since the death of her brother, she discovers that isn’t the only secret hidden on the island as mysterious goings-on lead to not just a ghost story but a whodunnit. Will Elspeth be able to solve the mysteries before the body count piles up?

The transformation of the intimate stage at The Mill at Sonning impressed the moment I took my seat with a glorious and atmospheric set design by Diego Pitarch that looks worlds away from the other shows I have seen staged there, and refreshingly so. Dark and brooding lighting from Richard G. Jones, a decent use of illusions from Guy Barrett and compositions by Simon Arrowsmith that add to the atmosphere ensure this is a great show in terms of production value – perhaps stronger than I have seen before at what is one of my favourite theatres to travel to.

It soon becomes clear that The Whistling is a case of style over substance as the writing lets the story down drastically. Having not read the original novel, I can’t compare the original writing to the adaptation, but going in to this show completely blind, it felt like something had been lost in translation with the different medium of telling the story on the stage losing the tension and impact. While the direction attempts to make something of the flawed adaptation, the problems are too great to salvage, resulting in a poorly paced production plagued with problems. Like one of the poor victims in the show, this is a play that has been badly executed.

The Whistling has a very slow build up that usually would cause the suspense to build up. However, it continually falls flat, plodding along in an inoffensive way that leaves you struggling to connect with the characters or story itself. Some absolutely bizarre choices in staging detract from the supposed horror aspect to make moments feel more comedic than I believe they were intended to be. While the tricks are quite impressive in themselves, it is not enough to salvage the sub-standard writing on offer here, often feeling under-developed and not quite ready to be seen by a paying audience just yet.

While the cast are all undoubtedly talented in their own right, they suffer at the hands of the production problems, never given the chance to shine, hampering their own performances because of this. Out of respect for the performers, I am not going to name any of them but there were cases of uneven performances throughout that left me wondering if they had had enough rehearsal time or if this was solely a case of the writing being too cold to connect to.

One thing that is always worth mentioning is how trips to The Mill at Sonning are an experience that stretches beyond the show you are seeing. Prior to the show, you are treated to a beautiful two-course meal which this time has a suitably Scottish theme, and the picturesque setting of the gorgeous theatre, the bar is consistently high elsewhere. This can in turn show up the inadequacies of the production if it doesn’t live up to the rest of the evening though, in my previous experience, even the most average of shows can give an experience worthy of 3 stars. Sadly that isn’t the case this time with a production so staggeringly flawed, even the most beautiful of dinners couldn’t make up for it.

I admire The Mill at Sonning for attempting something different with The Whistling. It is the most excited I have been for a production there this year, and longed for it to be as good as some of the previous shows I have seen there. Sadly, this is a show that just wasn’t good enough to be shown. While a decent enough production value was enough to sustain interest visually, the actual context of the show proved this was very much a case of style over substance. With The Whistling¸we were promised a chilling and scary show – and that was exactly what we got, though sadly for the wrong reasons. This is one show I wouldn’t like to see haunt this usually wonderful space again.

The Whistling plays at The Mill at Sonning until 16th November. Tickets from www.millatsonning.com

Photos by Pamela Raith