15-04-2025
Four Edgar Allan Poe tales to be told in one theatrical performance
A one-man show based on Edgar Allan Poe's work is returning to York after a sold-out performance last year.
Threedumb Theatre's One Man Poe will be performed at Theatre@41 Monkgate on June 1.
The show, which sees Stephen Smith performing four of the American author's spine-chilling works, returns following a sold-out visit to the York Medical Society last year.
The show went on to sell out its entire 21-show run at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, also winning the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.
The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat, and The Raven are the works represented in One Man Poe.
Mr Smith said: "I had a fantastic time last summer at the York Medical Society, on June 28.
"I had the pleasure of greeting everyone as they arrived at the venue, chatting to all the gothic horror fans who had travelled in far and wide.
"I felt a true appreciation of the horror genre from the people of York - the city has such an interest in ghosts and the supernatural - so I felt our show really fit the bill.
"Selling out weeks in advance was a testament to this.
"This time, however, I am performing the show in an actual theatre!
"This means I can present the show with true theatrical flare, by hooking up my spooky sound design to a proper PA system, and programme the 100+ lighting cues - all to aid Poe's incredible stories, which carried through just fine in the technically-basic but wholly atmospheric set up of the York Medical Society's gorgeous lecture room last year."
A "huge fan" of the late Roger Corman/Vincent Price's Poe-cycle when a child, Mr Smith reignited his love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe's work via Facebook Live.
In the words of a spokesperson, "When the theatres reopened, he combined four of Poe's most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe."
One Man Poe was first performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre.
