Once again, Southwest’s resident playwright, Kyle Munshower, director of the Spiral Theater Company, has put on a horrifically good show, Overtoun.
Their first time premiering in the renowned Twin Cities horror show, Spiral Theater had various shows throughout the last weeks of October. Spiral Theater’s sixth mainstage production, this spooky show, ran from October 21 to 28.
Overtoun is about a bridge set in Scotland, where it has a certain infamous reputation, gained from the great number of suicidal dogs that jump from the notorious Overtoun bridge. It seeks to show what people do in a bad situation, and no matter who they turn to, they get no good answers. It’s a real trip of a play with five actors playing a detective, police chief, mayor, mad scientist, and priest.
Overtoun was Munshower’s first dip into horror, having primarily done comedy before, this helped him put on the horror show.
“Timing is everything in comedy, saying or doing the right thing to elicit that response, same with horror. It’s about saying or doing the right thing at the right time. Elicit that feeling of being uncomfortable or spooked, right?” Munshower said.
Speaking of which, this year is the Twin City Horror Festival’s twelfth installment, with a total of nine performances debuting. It’s a curated set of shows overseen by a jury, requiring the theater companies to pitch an idea and pass an interview to be accepted. This process helped produce a variety of interesting takes on horror, bringing out the best in everyone.
This production was executed with elegance, striking a perfect tone of comedy and horror. The props were vivid. From the heart-rending dog to the ethereal puppet, it was truly a joy to watch.
“It was our most ambitious show, we had so much more sound, lighting, set design, and proper work to do than we ever have before,” Munshower said. As with all things, there were trials and tribulations throughout the journey.
As for what follows Overtoun, Spiral Theater held a fundraiser on December 8 and 9 at the Dreamland Arts Center with a plethora of original music and sketch comedy. In early 2024 they will have a stage reading in February, then return to Phoenix Theater for another full-length play.
