REVIEW: TERRIFYING WOMEN II: The Return at Golden Goose Theatre 26-29 October 2022

‘an eclectic and fresh entry to pub theatre in London’ ★★★★★ 

Terrifying Women returns to the Golden Goose Theatre for a second year of female-led horror for pub theatre. Making up half the line up of short plays on bloody display, Amanda Castro, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Sampira and Abi Zakarian are the 'Terrifying Women' behind this unique short play festival that stands out from other short play festivals on offer in pub theatres.

Produced by Amanda Castro, the six short plays showcase female talent across horror-genre and storytelling in a visceral, entertaining and thrilling evening of work by fresh voices on the scene of pub theatre that have something to say through genre-theatre.

BEWARE THE OLD WOMAN stars the chilling Karen Winchester in this first monologue about going into the woods at night. Morgan Lloyd Malcolm's short, has our actor telling the horror yarn to the audience. A campfire story. Winchester is magnetic, and TD Moyo's direction makes strong use of jump scares with witty use of sound and light. It's a strong start to the evening.

CARIB'S LEAP by Kandy Rohmann is a Caribbean Gothic monologue by a woman who has sold her soul to the devil. And likes it. Rohman performs as well, and her charisma is instant; a haunting entrance which stays with you. Martina Laird's direction allows Rohman to bring out the eeriness of her writing to full effect. Special mention to Nicola Chang's sound design which complements Rohmann's Southern Gothic-vibe and elevates the magic realism with its dynamic sound design. 

Peyvand Sadeghian's RESTLESS finishes the first half; a psychological horror about a sleep-deprived second-generation immigrant to the UK. Maia Tamraker's performance of this somnambulist refusing to sleep, ventures into the horror of mental health. Tamraker wins us over at every punchline and punch in the (emotional) gut. Director Nicky Allpress brings to life Sadeghian's water-infused vision with gusto. Tamraker dunks her head in a fish tank of water every time she feels tired, and it has an excellent sense of comedic timing and has fun with its themes of identity, identity guilt and being the child of immigrants. Pressure, tension and inherited guilt permeate the piece.

BACK TO BACK by Sampira is a monologue that provokes questions about censorship and terrorism. Sampira gives an empathetic performance of her work and challenges us as an audience. Sampira's forceful performance shines a light on corruption and anxiety in the individual. Back to Back stays with you past Halloween.

Actor Kokoma Kwaku stars in RUBBLE, a salty satire on a waitress that gets her revenge on her customers. 'Clean. Wipe. Repeat.' is her mantra and so was, is, ours now too. It's pandemic horror. Kwaku wins her audience over with a grasp of comedic timing. Hannah Hauer King directs this horror short that penetrates our most recent and current fears. But there's so much humour and warmth in Kwaku's acting that you're won over so easily. The hospitality industry got their revenge in this one, for sure.

Abi Zakarian's audience interactive script of a professor giving a lecture, SERIAL NUMBERS: SOCIETY'S OBSESSION WITH MASS KILLERS, strides us to the end. It targets an audience interactive 'lecture' by a professor. Acutely performed by Johnnie Fiori, the play/lecture gives us scares, unease, laughs and intrigue. It's a slow burner, and once you know, you know. Fiori sells it to us. Charm and personality goes a long way if you're a serial killer, and a lecturer.

Terrifying Women exposes the horrors of what is concerning female-identifying writers, directors and actors in 2022. This is an eclectic and fresh entry to pub theatre in London that is making fringe theatre with bite. This goes beyond horror. This is a platform and pool of the best voices making work.

Writers: Rebecca Batala, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Kandy Rohmann, Peyvand Sadeghian, Sampira and Abi Zakarian
Directors: Nicky Allpress, Melissa Dunne, Hannah Hauer-King, Martina Laird, TD Moyo and Sampira
Performers: Johnnie Fiori, Rachel Oneale, Kandy Rohmann, Sampira, Maia Tamrakar & Karren Winchester
Technical Stage Manager: Lauren Wedgeworth
Producer: Amanda Castro

Reviewed by Emma Godwin

BIOS

Nicky Allpress has worked as a freelance director for many years and was the National Theatre’s staff director for their epic production of My Brilliant Friend. As well as directing for numerous drama schools, her recent production of Romeo & Juliet set in 1980’s Brixton sold out at the Southwark Playhouse. As a writer and lyricist, she’s currently developing a new musical based on Nell Dunn’s Up the Junction alongside the Book, Music and Lyrics team, and has just written her first series for television.

Rebecca Batala is a playwright, writer and actor based in NW London. She was part of the Soho Writers’ Lab 2020/2021, where her debut horror play Band 2 was long listed for The Tony Craze Award. Her first short play Roughly 150 Years was staged at Blue Elephant Theatre in September.

Melissa Dunne is a director, writer and dramaturg for theatre. Directing credits include Lola and Dangerous Lenses, both at Vault Festival, Masterpieces and Just to Get Married by Cicely Hamilton, both at Finborough Theatre. Recent Writing includes Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands at

Vault Festival 2020. She is Artistic Director of Papercut Theatre.

Hannah Hauer-King is a director and dramaturg, with a focus on new writing, plays with songs, musicals and work focused on the female or LGBTQ+ experience. She started her career as Resident Assistant Director at Soho Theatre and went on to form all women theatre company Damsel Productions, who recently produced sell-out show The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs at Soho Theatre. Alongside her work with Damsel, she also works as a freelance theatre director, and has worked at venues including the Kiln Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Soho Theatre, Southwark Playhouse, Traverse Theatre, Theatre 503 and Jermyn Street Theatre.

Martina Laird is as actor and teacher. Theatre work includes The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Royal National Theatre, The Almeida, The Royal Court, The Tricycle, The Globe, Donmar Warehouse and Hampstead Theatre. In television, Martina is probably best known as Comfort Jones on BBC’s Casualty, for which she won acting awards from the Michael Elliott Foundation and the BFM (Screen Nation) Awards. She has taught and directed at many Drama Schools including Arts Ed, LAMDA and RADA. Most recently she has worked as associate director on Get Up Stand Up, the Bob Marley musical and directed The Night Woman at the Other Palace.

Morgan Lloyd Malcolm is a playwright and screenwriter. Morgan was commissioned by The Globe to write Emilia which became a hit show in summer 2018 before transferring to the West End in 2019, winning three Olivier awards. Morgan is adapting three of her plays for film, including Emilia, and her adaptation of her play The Wasp is filming end of 2022 starring Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer and directed by Guillem Morales. She is working on a number of TV projects including an adaptation of Damage by Josephine Hart for Moonage, Gaumont and Netflix, starring Richard Armitage and Indira Varma which is due out end of 2022.

TD. Moyo is a director, teacher, performer and South London activist. She believes in theatre's capacity to illicit genuine change and social reform and is the Artistic director of Mwarsha Featre, a community-based theatre company for emerging work and social engagement. Most recently, she has worked on new work at the National, the Royal Opera house and Opera Holland Park. Credits include: Chicken Burger and Chips (Brixton House), Karmen (Opera Holland Park) Love & Money(LAMDA), Mami Wata (Royal Opera House), Kind Regards (Royal Opera House [virtual]), Caste-ing (Noveau Riche/Barbican). TD is currently a resident director at The Almeida.

Peyvand Sadeghian is an actor and theatre maker. Having performed Morgan Lloyd Malcom's Shut Your Eyes at the first Terrifying Women event in 2021, Peyvand is positively panic-stricken (and a bit delighted) at having been commissioned to write a piece this time around. Previous work as a creator include Dual ودsهنا) Vault Festival 2020 Show of the Week award) and The Art of Uprising (MENA Arts UK short film commission). She is currently working on new projects as an Associate Artist with Nouveau Riche, and as part of the Tamasha Theatre Playwrights cohort.

Sampira is a curator, producer and writer working across film, theatre and visual mainly in the horror genre. When she is not producing work in the horror genre, her works also span across historical protests and sci-fi or are interrogating state intelligence operations, art censorship and conspiracy theories.

Kandy Rohmann is a London based actor/writer. She completed the writing program of the Young Vic theatre in January 2022 and had her writing work professionally staged there. She loves the Terrifying Woman and everything they stand for. She is known for her work on The Alienist Angel of Darkness and the upcoming feature film The Last Rifleman. Other credits include theatre/stage work at well-known London venues such as the Barbican, Theatre 503, the Union Theatre and Southwark Playhouse.

Eliott Sheppard specialises in Technical Stage Management, with a keen interest in New Writing and Sustainable Processes in Theatre. Previous Work Includes: Salt (Theatre503), Fritz and Matlock, All By Myself, Bloody Mary (Edinburgh Fringe 2022), I Can't Hear You (Theatre503), Jane Eyre (Minack Theatre), The Straw Chair (Finborough Theatre), We Are Here (The Bush Theatre), Pataflafla (Bridge House Theatre), Us (White Bear Theatre), A Mighty Shout (R&D, 615 Productions), Sleeping Beauty(The Maltings, Ely), OCO-2 (R&D, Part of The Main), Lovesick (The Hope Theatre), Family Tree (Actors Touring Company), Scab (The Arcola Theatre), The Isklander Trilogy (Swamp Motel).

Abi Zakarian is a British-Armenian playwright. Her plays include: Found, produced by 45North for their Written on the Waves series of audio plays; Perfect Myth Allegory at Jermyn Street Theatre for their ‘15 Heroines’ series and I Am Karyan Ophidian for the Sam Wanamaker Theatre at Shakespeares Globe. Her play Fabric won a Scotsman Fringe First award and she won the Vault Festival Peoples Choice Award for her play I Have A Mouth And I Will Scream. A Creative Associate at Small Truth Theatre and co-founder of Terrifying Women, she is currently under commission with Derby Theatre, National Theatre Connections and Futures Theatre