Soon after its release to DVD, I saw (and loved) the original film version of the Swedish romantic horror story, Let the Right One In. What I enjoyed most about that movie was its moody tone and even moodier lighting. I don’t what it was like to watch in the cinema but it made for ideal at-home viewing. Newly adapted for the stage, LTROI is on now at the recently reopened Apollo Theatre (with refurbished ceiling) for a “strictly limited season” run. How does the stage adaptation compare to the movie and is it worth seeing? Well …
I thought the play’s pace was similar to the film. So was the tone. The show was just as stylised as the film – but more theatric and choreographic, needing to direct the viewer’s eye with action rather than rely on camera work and close ups. Actors put on dancer movements between scenes as sorts of keep-the-flow-going montages. This dance-y stuff worked well in my opinion but felt a lot different than I remembered the movie to have done.
I reckon John Ajvide Lindqvist (author of first the LTROI novel and then its screenplay) is probably pleased by BAFTA winner Jack Thorne’s handling of his tale of love between a shiftless teen and a wayward vampire . Honestly, the first bit of the play kinda plodded along. But post-intermission the audience was rewarded with a faster pace, lots of blood and a few especially nifty stage tricks and inventive uses of neato props.
Should you see it? Yeah. If the price of a West End show doesn’t set you back too much, why not? Performances are good, set design is exquisite, and the story is a cosily melancholic one to let wash over you. But if you’re looking for more ‘bang for your buck’ entertainment that’s intimately creepy, you might do better diving under your duvet for your own private mini marathon movie-fest.
The Apollo Theatre is located at Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 7ES. Find out more at apollotheatrelondon.co.uk and right-one-in.com.
