The Lovecraft Chronicles - A One Man Show by Michael Sabbaton
In 2011 I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my halloween evening being thrilled and amazed at a one man show depicting the horrific tale of The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft, one of my favourite authors performed by Michael Sabbaton. This year I was blessed again as Michael Sabbaton brought back to life again the tale of Cthulhu along with a new addition, one which I had suggested to him myself many months prior, The Temple.
The Temple took us on a journey to the bottom of the sea and the crazed hallucinations of Karl Heinrich, Graf von Altberg-Ehrenstein, lieutenant-commander of the U-29 U Boat. Sabbaton took paranoia and madness to a whole new level and I could feel the whole audience behind me tense and on the edge of their seats!
Daniel with Michael Sabbaton
With The Call of Cthulhu Michael had his work cut out trying to depict five of the stories main characters all by himself but he managed to pull it off very well. The show did in all honesty require the viewer to have a reasonable understanding of the characters ahead of time for I found myself explaining a few details of the characters to my wife afterwards. That aside the depiction of the various levels of insanity within the characters was superb, with the character of Castro in particular leaving me on the edge of my seat. It was very clear that a lot of effort had gone into the minimal props used, the soundscape was amazingly appropriate adding to the smoky, green atmosphere that was already there to greet us as we walked into the studio.
This all came together into a show that made two hours seem like mere minutes, the captivation held so well that the ending hit like a brick to the head, a superb finale to the madness we just witnessed. If you get the opportunity to see this show I cannot recommend it enough, it is a fantastic, chthonic experience in madness.
