Les Enfants Terribles are always a sign of quality theatre and, once more, they don’t disappoint with their new show at the Fringe. Their new creation, a production in conjuction with newly formed Pins and Needles company is the dark and spooky tale of Ernest. Who is locked up in an institution for the mentally unstable. He doesn’t talk, he doesn’t do much. He just stares at a picture he has in his room, all day and night. He hates the moon, and he has his window covered so he’ll never see it. But, why? What has happened to him? What has he done?
With multiple flashbacks (and flashbacks inside of flashbacks), different points of view, and more than one narrator, we discover the faitful night that changed Ernest’s world forever, a night so horrific, it has made him never speak a word again.
With hints to Alfred Hitchcock and Tim Burton (with a hint of Edgar Allan Poe thrown in for good measure), Oliver Lansley has created another theatrical masterpiece of dark undertones, creepy characters and where silences speak volumes.
But all is not down to a fantastic script. The play is faultlessly directed, with a very inventive use of props, lighting and music. Even more, the acting is exceptional, a lesson in physical constrain. The four actors, who sometimes exchange roles halfway through the production are superb at all times, never leaving the stage, and always in character. Their presence adds to the creepiness of the story, and their acting abilities are amongst the best in modern British theatre.
Ernest and the Pale Moon is, without a doubt, another roaring success from a company that does no wrong. A play, so good, it needs revisiting.
5/5 
Adrian G. Velazquez
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