Every Wild Beast

Any theatre company setting and staging a show in a literal attic must work hard to bust some pretty chiselled Fringe conventions. Another piece about the eccentricity of what we hide in our lofts? Fortunately, Lion House Theatre abandon this site of dusty timbers and head out on a murder mystery-cum-adventure hunt, which occasionally glimmers with moments of wondrous storytelling.

Someone (or some-thing) is killing badgers, and police have ordered a strict curfew to protect countryside residents. Barri (Casey Jay Andrews) has been collecting every shred of newspaper related to the killings; her attic is one giant pinboard and has all the signs of a person obsessed with uncovering the truth. When Sam (Tom Coliandris)—on the run and desperate to hide—breaks in, he convinces Barri to join him on a midnight mission that will hopefully bring the pair great riches.

Lion House do remarkably well to conjure up scenes of sprawling countryside and farmland. The stars are fading and the moon is shrinking; torches provide the only light as they travel for miles to reach the site of their fortune. As they are menacingly stalked by a fearsome panther, the two run for their lives (which is pretty impressive in a space no larger than 70 square feet).

The backstories are pretty thin, and frequent narration by Sullivan Beau Brown fills in so many gaps that we might as well just read the script in places. It often errs on the schmaltzy side but Every Wild Beast is accomplished, spooky storytelling that simply needs to go feral.