A few weeks ago I went to see the Lyrics 'Ghost Stories' in it's new home on St. Martin's Lane and was very pleased to find I enjoyed it as much the second time even though I knew the end. In fact, sitting in a very (possible over) reactive audience, I tried not to feel slightly superior in an 'I know something you don't know' way - didn't manage it but that probably tells you a lot about me.
One of the consequences of seeing the play twice was the pleasure you get from watching out for the little touches that tied the whole evening together. The satisfaction that the final conceit gives you is one of the plays strength, the individual stories would probably feel quite lightweight and inconsequential otherwise.
Which brings me to 'Twisted Tales' - I had high hopes of another macabre evening especially given the source of the original short stories - Roald Dahl not being unknown for his, huh, twisted sense of humour. But the result was much less enjoyable than 'Ghost Stories' for two reasons.
Given a running time of about ninety minutes, five stories seemed too many. Admittedly these short stories aren't much more than set up and punch line but they still seemed rushed. Atmospheric and lovingly realised in that post war style of films like 'Brief Encounter', they weren't given room to breathe.
But I think the biggest disappointment was the framing device of commuters being told tall tales. There was no extra gloss given to the tales by the ending - which was a shame as I was hoping for a conclusion as clever as Jeremy Dyson's previous play.
That isn't to say that the evening was unenjoyable. The clipped vowel delivery and sheer nastiness of some of the tales was entertaining. I was just really hoping for more.
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