Slender, Theatre Upstairs

The idea that 'whispers in the night' or those creepy stories told to us are actually true is the inspiration behind writer and actor Shane O'Regan's new play Slender. The aural introduction before relighting the rough, messy cabin set in the woods, works wonderfully well, but in a work that is a somewhat uneven, there are quite a few ebbs and flows to come, before it arrives at the final destination, which, to be fair, is somewhat unpredictable.

Young couple Rachel, a law student who has a yearning for travel and particularly the Camino way, and Alex, working all hours to keep the family's music store and school afloat following his father's illness, stumble across the cabin while lost in the woods. Alex is soaked, so they take refuge to dry off, realising that perhaps it is someone's home rather than a disused cabin. Sure enough, another soul enters, the nervous, maybe a little off centre, Fiachra, a writer with his own 'theory' of the Slender Man story.

There is a good premise here, from Alex (Stephen O'Leary) spreading himself thin through work and leaving his own ambitions behind, to Rachael (Hilary Bowen-Walsh) wanting to live a little, although early on their exchanges aren't as strong as they could be, while trying to set up the jealousies and arguments that will help push the plot along. And of course Fiachra (Shane O'Regan), jittery, evasive, and perhaps obsessed with his theory, as his delightfully rendered wall of research shows, with a small nod to a more modern, popular Slender Man idea in the shape of The Silence from Doctor Who. All three actors bring to life three distinct and different characters, with the interaction between them all, including the physical moments, is smooth and works well, but at times it does feel a little repetitive in places. All of this plays out on a good set design from Ronan Dempsey, while Aarron Sullivan's lighting design brings it to life.

While watching it, I couldn't help thinking of a metaphorical Slender Man in us all, our troubles or worries escalating themselves, the kind that we only see, and this can be hinted at through the play itself, although the characters and plot are the main focus of this work, and any interpretation of that kind is what I might make of it myself. In the end, what we have is a good premise that comes over as somewhat uneven in places.