Last week Off The Rock Productions presented The Trove of  Curiosities, an evening of five short plays concerning the supernatural, the uncanny and the bizarre.

By Laura Southren-Dale.

The Trove Of Curiosities is a supernatural production, and as fans of all things horror, we were excited to be given the chance to go and watch it. The play (put on by Off The Rock Productions) took place at Krumbs Kitchen in York and is well worth a watch if you get the chance!

The plot of the play consisted of five contemporary short stories, which were titled Security, A Bridge too Far?, The Boy With Marbles For Eyes, Twenty-Nine and Here’s Hoping. The five stories had an interweaving theme, and revolved around St. Marys Asylum and the questionable experimental techniques that had been used by the doctors on the patients there, along with a twist that was not revealed until the end of the show.  Each of the stories were very unique and well written; think M.R. James, or anything by Mark Gatiss or Reece Shearsmith (as fans of all three we found each story delightfully disturbing).

The characters were all ably played by the cast, and personally Matthew Wignall (actor and writer of Twenty-Nine) was particularly worth noting; his performance was fantastic like his writing ability – we found Twenty-Nine to be the most atmospheric and haunting of the five stories!

Ultimately though, all of the stories (and therefore the entire play) were truly enjoyable, and we could see it easily being adapted to televisions, or at least a larger theatre. It was a shame that the venue was so small, but this encouraged a sense of tension and intimacy between the cast and audience, so there were upsides to it’s size. If you are a fan of the supernatural, horror, or anything in-between, be sure to give The Trove Of Curiosities and Off The Rock Productions a chance!