Let The Right One in

 

It was a lovely talkie evening all told. 

We met in the city centre, found a pub where we could talk and 

then found a tapas place near the Royal exchange where we could relax and talk some more.

After the play we returned to the hotel and watched the apartments opposite as if we were James Stewart and Grace Kelly in Rear Window. And we drank Prosecco cooled in the sink in the bathroom and yacked a great deal more.

Jack Thorne’s stage adaptation of the Swedish horror/ drama was excellent.

Essentially a study of bullying and loneliness it follows shy adolescent Oskar’s life , from sad school time to his quiet existence in a snowbound apartment with his alcoholic mother.

As gruesome murders affect his community , Oskar meets up with Eli, his new and equally lonely next door neighbour, and a somewhat sweet, mutually support relationship blossoms between the two despite Oskar’s growing awareness that Eli may be a vampire.

The performances in this production are top notch. Rhian Blundell ( who has the look and energy  of fellow actress Jessie Buckley ) brings an alien type physicality to her role as the ambiguous Eli and Pete Machale, ( who is probably in his mid twenties in reality) looks and acts every inch like a gauche thirteen year old boy from a damaged home and a sad school life. 

The horror moments are well handled with flashes and hints at gore which certainly makes you jump ,rather than a explicit blood fest  seen in the movie. 

I’ve been to the Royal Exchange before but had forgotten just how beautiful the impressive the building and design is.

This morning we walked up to Manchester’s northern quarter for a fab breakfast at the North Cafe before catching the train homeward