MTP “Irma Vep” an Ingenious Seasonal Sendup
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Between pumpkin patches and porch skeletons, Mill Town Players have mounted a confection of their own—a Halloween treat better than a bag stuffed with full-size candy bar. Their production of “Irma Vep (can you spell VAMPIRE?)” is a delirious two-man farce stitched from the fabric of every haunted manor and mummified curse ever dreamed up by the British stage. It’s fast, funny, and just a shade insane, which is part of its charm.
Most of the lunacy unfolds at Manacrest Estate, an English mansion where aristocratic gloom and gothic melodrama meet their match in parody. There’s Lord Edgar Hillcrest, his newly wed Lady Enid, a wooden-legged groundskeeper named Nicodemus Underwood—one shoulder hump shy of the classic horror sidekick—and a revolving door of phantoms, princesses, and beasts. Among the latter: an Egyptian royal, a tour guide, a Nosferatu, and a werewolf who seems to have wandered in from another script altogether.
That this carnival of caricatures is conjured by only two actors—Cameron Woodson and Drake King—is the production’s most audacious trick. They move on and offstage with astonishing velocity, transforming behind the curtains into someone else entirely before the audience has finished laughing at their last line. The quick-change team—Frances Brown, Kayla Wong, Kelsey Wong, and Stephanie Wong—deserves applause of its own. The device, which by all rights should collapse under its own silliness, instead becomes a visual sleight of hand so deft that even the most hard-nosed spectator eventually stops counting wigs.
Woodson and King throw themselves into the multiple identities with an enthusiasm bordering on glee. Their timing is impeccable, their chemistry unforced, and their energy relentless. One scene—an absurd dance sequence in an Egyptian tomb—channels the chaotic brilliance of a Marx Brothers movie. For all its escalating absurdity, the two-hour spectacle somehow keeps its plot intact, a tribute to director Will Ragland’s sure-handed control.
Ragland’s set is a character unto itself. Manacrest Estate, with its winding staircase, flickering fireplace, and hidden passages, is a lavish contraption of scares and surprises. A portrait of the late lady of the manse looms ominously as though auditioning for its own ghost story. When the action shifts to ancient Egypt, the stage metamorphoses again—towering stone pillars, immense doors, and a golden sarcophagus that gleams like a joke shared between set and audience.
“Irma Vep,” in this incarnation, feels both generous and mischievous, a send-up of genre and a love letter to theatrical ingenuity. In a season awash in cobwebs and camp, it’s a reminder that the best Halloween tricks can come from pure performance—the transformation of two actors into an entire haunted world.
Note: This production requires a coordinated effort like few others, and the crew is deserving of applause for making it work: Stage Manager Cary Doyle, Assistant Stage Manager Jay Bearden, Lighting Designer Tony Penna, Scenic Artist Abby Brown, Costumers Cyndi Lohrmann, Betsy Allardice, Kris Yon and Audio Engineer Josef Wehunt.
“Irma Vep” continues through Nov. 2. Tickets here.
