Review: Ghost From a Perfect Place (Drayton Arms Theatre)

I should begin this review by saying I went to see Cellar Door Theatre's production of Ghost from a Perfect Place (written by Philip Ridley) without any prior knowledge of the play, but I liked the sound of it from the description:  Back in the swinging sixties, Travis Flood led a gang that terrorised East London. Now, after an absence of many years, he returns to find his old turf in the clutches of a new kind of gang…with a new kind of leader.

Walking into the theatre space, the first thing to notice was the set, it was very clear we were to be observing the action in the kitchen of a small flat, where the front door leads straight to the kitchen and there’s been some historical fire damage that hasn’t been rectified.  One of the actors, Karen Holley as Torchie Sparks, was on stage, and as other audience members settled and chatted, I observed her, entirely in character, creating a moment that began before the show even started. Without saying a word, she was at once vulnerable, yet in control, with a story that felt like it needed to be told.

As the play began, Torchie answered the door to Travis Flood (Brian Aris) who had arrived early for a liaison with Rio, Torchie’s granddaughter.  His early arrival was fortuitous for us as an audience, as the first half was made up of their discussions while they waited. But it also shaped the latter part of the narrative that could have been very different if he had arrived to find Rio alone.

The interactions between these two characters were fascinating, as they reminisced about the “heyday” in the sixties. Former gangster “Mr Flood”, as Torchie consistently referred to him, discussed the good old days almost amicably with Torchie.  Yet it was cleverly indicated that Torchie had memories of this infamous character, never once deviating from referring to him as “Mr Flood”, reluctantly obeying as he suggests she should touch the suit he’s quite proud of, it was almost like a very subtle game of cat and mouse, and while the conversation between these two continued, I felt the sort of low level anxiety I absolutely love during a thriller… anticipation of what he was going to do or reveal next and a sense of underlying menace that came from the dialogue more as certain reveals were drip fed. There was a very intense chemistry between these two very talented performers, and the comic timing was spot on – the moments of laughter almost came as a surprise at times. Incredibly well done.

Most of the first half was these two discussing their very different but parallel experiences of the Sixties, and I absolutely loved it.   Towards the end, Rio, aka “Miss Sparks” arrived, and broke the spell. Speaking to her Gran in a way that showed she feels she’s in charge of the living space now, she dismisses her from the flat and much of the remainder of the play itself, setting the scene for a very different second half.

The second half begins with conversation between Travis and Rio. But when Rio’s gang ("The Disciples" who follow Saint Donna - aka Rio's mum) arrive the mood completely changes and the earlier sense of anxiety I had was replaced by puzzlement, honestly.  The outfits and behaviour of this nineties gang were devoid of any of the menace of the traditional sixties gang leader. The contrast between his calm delivery and almost reserved reminiscences with Torchie and the utterly in-your-face, over the top drama from the younger gang was significant.

Having processed this over the past few days, it has become clear to me that this was a very clever vehicle to move the play forward.  Miss Kerosene’s persona, for example, takes over a lot of the scenes in the second half, she is loud, she is determined to be heard, and she comes across as completely unhinged. Yet she is about as scary as someone who needs to be given a book and a few snacks and told to “sit down and relax for a bit, love”.  The energy in this performance was consistently high and I admired Maria Anthony’s enthusiasm for playing this larger-than-life character.  Fatima Makhzoum’s Miss Sulphur was more measured in delivery, and seemingly the glue holding The Disciples together. At once deliberate, but giving a little more insight into the gang dynamics she was a useful informant to have around. But Miss Sparks, played by Canitta Hart, had depths that only became obvious as the second half progressed. Some of the stories she came out with made her out to be completely lacking in empathy, possibly a psychopath, and as such the member of the gang who entirely deserves to be the leader. This was particularly clear once the other two had left. The more I think about her, the more of a menacing presence I realise she had.

At the time of watching, I was bothered by the fact that I found the girls’ delivery more comical than scary. The Disciples gang clothing style was questionable; it was like no gang attire I’d have dreamt of in my weirdest vivid dreams. These outfits were in your face, gawdy and cheap looking. I found it hard to take these characters seriously on initial viewing.  Travis Flood was entirely restrained during the first part of the second half, yet he had more of a threatening presence whilst not being able to move or talk than any of the girls. Brian Aris’s facial movements and body language during this part kept drawing my eyes back to him constantly, and despite the loud, dramatic, chaos going on around him, he was the one I was focussed on. When his gag was finally removed and he began talking again, his delivery was as powerful as in the first half, and again he held my attention.

When I posted my curtain call photos on Instagram just after seeing the show, I said my review would be up later in the week.  I knew this was one I needed time to properly process, and indeed my thoughts are different now to how they were as I walked out of the theatre immediately after the show. If you’d asked me what I thought as I walked out, I would have said it was a play of two halves, I loved the first but wasn’t so keen on the second. However now my thoughts have developed, and whilst I would still say I preferred the first half, I have done more deliberating about the second half and come to appreciate its difference.

With subtle but very effective lighting and sound design by James Denny, and incredibly tight direction by Brittany Rex, this play is made up of very intelligent writing that uses comedy at times throughout and distraction in the second half as a way of burying the true narrative until it is time for it to be revealed. I have thought about this production a lot since seeing it. The layers are a gift that keep on giving.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Production photos by Lidia Crisafulli.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.

If you would like to see my curtain call photographs from this show and others, please visit my Instagram here.