Blood Beast Horror, East Anglian Daily Times

Howling at the moon, and growing hair and claws have been just the horror thing since Universal created their classic cinema wolf man in the 1940s.  

But Queen Victoria fighting a werewolf, a pantomime cow giving birth, sailing ships crossing the seas to Billericaystan? That can only be the comic version laid on by Julian Harries for Eastern Angles. 

It may be the eleventh Christmas show he’s done at the SirJohnMilesTheatre, but this is one of the very best.  

It’s so good that it makes you take a fresh look at Julian Harries himself. How talented is this man who can write wildly funny, tongue-in-cheek, film genre take-off fantasies, direct them with pace and ingenuity and give an outstanding comic performance in the lead role? There can be few in the country that come anywhere near him.

The story’s a Victorian Gothic yarn about an ancient curse on successive Barons Wildwood who become werewolves when the moon is full.  A young vet, a popular figure down at the Jug and Jugular, does his best to put things right by tracking down the magic spell which started it all off.  This he narrates in a series of letters to his absent fiancée who’s quite obviously having a wild time with hordes of servicemen while he’s away.  

The five performers (Greg Wagland, Tracy Elster, Betsabeh Emran, Philip Benjamin and Julian himself) take on a myriad of quick-change parts and sing some delightful mock Victorian songs, composed by Pat Whymark.  Cleverly harmonising, the actors dance and accompany themselves on piano, violin, mandolin, squeezebox and gazoo It’s all great fun and even the inevitable audience participation gets us involved in werewolfery

Julian Harries’ own performance is really something else. He’s quite mesmeric, his face at times a cross between Peter Cushing and Basil Rathbone, at others rural and bucolic.  Always, though, there’s twinkle in his eye, a hint of a grin, which fits with tradition because underneath the wolf man was always a good guy in torment.   

It’s done on a well-lit and attractive woodland set of twigs and antlers, with lots of ingenious stage devices including a staircase - three small sections of banister passed along beside miming climbers - a two-wheel gig, two ships, a camel train and puppets.  

This is a show with surprises and delights at every turn. It could become a very hot ticket this Christmas.