Werewolves

The audience warning stated that this performance features “mild gruesome descriptions of deaths by werewolves”, and that children under ten should stay away.

The venue for the bloodbath is the sparkling new renovated Bondi Pavilion that is well worth a look around. The performance is in the aptly named high tide room at the back of the courtyard, that has been made dark and brooding with a curtain and spooky classical music. Members of the audience are cosily sat down into a row of chairs facing each other.

The smartly dressed, and well bearded undertaker of Millers Hollow is Nicholas Giles Phillips esq – who explains the rules of the interactive game.

Everyone is handed a card assigning them a role which includes being either a werewolf, a witch, a lover or humble villager.

Phillips explains that as night falls on the town werewolves are stalking the village and when morning breaks someone has been torn to shreds.

Night is depicted in a low-tech style by closing your eyes. At one point Phillips’ sonorous voice lulled me into a little nap and I needed to be jolted awake.

The success of the game relies in part on the spunk of the audience members, and at our session was blessed by several family groups of siblings who injected spunk and humour into accusations of who might be a werewolf. It reminded of the spirit of reading a Roald Dahl book.

I was assigned the card of a humble villager and was an early victim of the onslaught. The consolation prize of an early demise was a glass of bubbly or a boiled lolly.

It was actually more fun having your eyes open during the night of skullduggery as the participants choose who will die and who will get a reprieve.

Werewolves is an hour of fun and imagination. 

David Spicer

Photographer: Lucy Parakhina