The House On the Lake

In this intriguing psychological thriller by Aiden Fennessy, David Rail, a prominent lawyer wakes in a hospital room with no memory of how he got there. He has been involved in an incident. His doctor, Alice, must work quickly to solve the mystery before David forgets again.

An intense two-hander, Kenneth Ransom, as David Rail and Marthe Rovik as Dr. Alice Lowe, work beautifully together in this powerful, tangled storyline. Kenneth Ransome is very convincing as intelligent, but amnesic David, and wins the audience’s sympathy for David’s situation. Marthe Rovik has an unusual, slightly clipped delivery (she has a natural Norwegian accent, which gives her a slightly different sound), which works well for the efficient, thoughtful and precise doctor.

India Mehta’s set and costume design is impressive. While the costuming was very simple and perhaps devoid of much choice, the set design was excellent, using the full height of the Studio Underground, this hospital room was of institutional, old world design, stark and imposing, cold and slightly run-down. Trent Suidgeest’s lighting was used to great effect.

This world premiere production is part of the Black Swan Lab, an initiative designed to present new shows and to push boundaries. Aiden Fennessy’s play was a fascinating new work and it was interesting and rewarding to see actor Stuart Halusz perform impressively in his first direction role for Black Swan.

An intriguing and interesting production.

Kimberley Shaw

Photographer: Gary Marsh.