Evento

Poe: Master of the Macabre by John Hardy

THE PLAY consists of three adaptations of Poe's work with a prologue, epilogue and transition, which integrate the life of Poe with the work of Poe. The three adaptations are:

WILLIAM WILSON The life of an evil young man who rules those around him with an iron fist. He is foiled by the appearance of another, who shares his name and countenance. He is hounded by this alter ego until he is driven to murder. When he kills his look-alike he finds that he has killed himself.

THE TELLTALE HEART A servant believes he is stalked by the pale, blue eye of his master. Driven to near insanity, he attempts to relieve his torment by taking the life of his innocent master. After the deed is done, the man finds that the master's heart continues to beat beneath the floorboards where the body has been entombed. The police investigate and the increasing volume of the dead man's heart drives the servant to confession.

THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM An imprisoned man awakens to find himself in a totally dark jail cell. While exploring the cell, he trips and falls and finds a deep pit in the center. He realizes that had he not tripped, he would have fallen to his death. The next day, the narrator discovers that the prison is slightly more illuminated and that he is strapped to a wooden frame on his back, facing the ceiling. Above him is a razor-sharp pendulum measuring "one foot from horn to horn" suspended from the ceiling and it is swinging back and forth - and slowly descending. He narrowly escapes and the pendulum is withdrawn into the ceiling. However, then the walls become start to move inwards, forcing him slowly toward the center of the room and the pit.