Can evil live in a place? If you’re brave enough you can find out; Just sit in the dark with us, and listen…’
Last Halloween I was lucky enough to spend an evening at The Horror Writer by Emily Gillmor Murphy. It was an engaging, entertaining and the perfect play for Halloween.
Unfortunately, due to the Covid restrictions we won’t be able to spend an evening at the the theatre this year but don’t worry, there is an alternative. Emily Gillmor Murphy along with Ciaran Gallagher and a socially distanced team are back with ‘Blind’. This is an ‘Audio Horror Experience’ and I can guarantee that if you are looking for some horror this Halloween, then ‘Blind’ is not to be missed.
Originally intended to be an immersive experience at The Whale Theatre in Greystones, the production team of Emily Gillmor and Ciaran Gallagher have been working hard to move the event online and I was lucky enough to get a advance ‘listening’. While Covid may mean that we won’t be able to experience this in The Whale, there is some good news. The event is now open to a much wider audience than the originally intended forty.
I had a quick chat with Emily about horror, ‘Blind’, Covid and the creative process.
Mystery and the sense of the unknown is something that I’ve always loved about the horror genre. I think in life there are always things that we don’t fully understand, and that is usually associated with darkness and fear. All humans have a little bit of darkness in them, that’s why we gravitate so strongly to murder mysteries, true crime and horror. I love writing in this genre because I not only want to scare my audience, I want to excite them too.
A wonderful aspect with most radio plays is their ability to jump from location to location, and also across different time periods. With ‘Blind’ we really wanted to ground the piece in one location and one time period. We wanted to give our audience the feeling of experiencing these moments as they happen. That’s why we encourage our listeners to enjoy ‘Blind’ with headphones and in the dark, as our aim is for the show to be all consuming. I often describe ‘Blind’ as an experience rather than an audio drama, for 30 minutes you are trapped in the dark with us, and the only way to get through is to keep listening.
The idea for the ‘Blind’ script originated from a story I found online, about a spooky blindfolded doll that had been found in Singapore. After putting together a first draft, I met with Ciaran and discussed next steps, he knew instantly that this was a perfect piece for binaural sound effects, and unique sound design, as we both wanted to create a truly scary immersive experience.
I felt incredibly lucky to be able to work with Ciaran on this piece. We’ve worked together numerous times in the past and therefore have a great understanding of each other’s artistic processes and aims. This became especially important when it came to recording ‘Blind’. We, as a team, take the safety of our cast incredibly seriously, and we were very strict about Covid-19 regulations. This meant that we sometimes had to work on this project alone, when we would’ve normally worked together. Zoom readings and meetings have unfortunately become the norm, but we had such a wonderful team on this project, that even in these difficult times, it was an absolute pleasure to put this show together. Ciaran and I also were both so lucky to have Colin Doran come on board to this project as Assistant Audio Producer, his insight and expertise was vital in bringing everything together.
The current times have been incredibly difficult for a lot of people. But I must say that I’m in such awe of the artists around me; their resilience and passion to create and produce great work in these incredibly difficult times has been so inspiring. On ‘Blind’ I feel so humbled to have worked with such a talented cast consisting of Martha Breen, Niamh McPhillips and Aonghus Òg McAnally, without artists like them, I wouldn’t be able to make the work I’m so passionate about.
Blind will be available online for a week from Friday evening.
