Under permanent house arrest, surrounded by scandalous accusations of blood and perversion, the Countess Bathory is told stories by the one servant remaining to her. The boredom that threatens the sanity of both women is in part staved off by the tales that are brought to life before the Countess in the single tower room. The only other change in the monotonous existence of the Lady and her retainer is the occasional visits from the man who first accused and then incarcerated Bathory, her son-in-law and the inheritor of her lands since her trial - but do his visits come at their own cost?
Scary Little Girls Productions was founded to expand the role of women in the theatrical story telling process and ensure the presence of the female at the heart of high level original artistic work. SLGP consistently looks to produce vehicles with a variety of exciting and diverse roles for women. Following their success with original script The Kisses, an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula which examined gender in sexual fears and medicine, SLGP were keen to explore further the role of the female “other” in gothic literature and mythology.
For this project, SLGP are very excited to be joined by Laura Trevail (The Society of Wonders) as designer and visual director. The design aims to communicate the complexities of the stories, characters and messages, illuminating contradictions whilst showing them to be purposeful.
Trevail’s tactile, physical interactive objects and performance space will create for Consuming Stories (working title) to both combine and contradict storytelling tradition, drawing complex meanings from the script into existence on the stage in their own right. Developing the script and visual language simultaneously will ensure that the piece will meet the performers, the language, the soundscape and the audience, head on.