Villains, Scoundrels and Perverts - The Haunting of Blaine Manor: The Characters

10/8/2019

Vincent Price

After a spectacular launch of the 2021/22 tour of The Haunting of Blaine Manor (check the venues and ticket booking links further down this update) I thought I'd take a little time and talk about my influences in the writing of the play.

Part of the title to this blog entry is part of a line from script - 'Villains, Scoundrels and Perverts...' - yes the play has its villains and scoundrels. Perverts? Well, no - but you decide when you've seen it. So, I always wanted to write a ghost story, that's detailed elsewhere on this site - www.talesfromparadiseheights.com/the-haunting-of-blaine-manor.html

But what of the characters? I went back to my childhood and teenage years and found my rogues gallery in some of my favourite films. As I was writing each character I had these actors and some of their portrayals in mind, some of them are an amalgamation of more than one actor - it's my imagination, I'm allowed! I hasten to add here that the actors that are playing the characters in the play are NOT doing impressions of them. Each performance is owned and lived in by the actors onstage, a product of their wonderful craft and skill and direction - it's been a lot of fun in rehearsal working with this talented bunch.

The actors all named below were in my mind when I was writing, and there were qualities of others (again listed elsewhere) but these few below kept popping up, they were iconic models for me to hang action and dialogue on, and all this a good while before I finally cast the play. I shared my time with these silver screen icons who freaked me out regularly between the hours of midnight and four in the morning on each writing session, a good ghost story should be written around that time don't you think? That's when I did all of my writing on this.

Humphrey Bogart

Doctor Roy Earle

For Doctor Roy Earle, the American dropped into a haunted English manor, I was writing with Humphrey Bogart in mind. He has an axe to grind with swindlers and fakes, of which he is sure Cairo and Scarabus are. A confident investigator, shrewd, adept but with a tragic past and a somewhat wounded centre. Punchy, abrasive, cynical and trouble when he's had a drink.

Lauren Bacall

Bette Davis

Vivian Ruttledge

For newspaper reporter/columnist Vivian Ruttledge I had a Lauren Bacall meets Bette Davis combination going on in my head. She'd be thoroughly English though of course - glamorous, catty, curious and a very adept investigator herself. Blaine Manor though is something entirely new to her and the house begins to take its toll - though no psychic, she can sense there is something dark and dangerous here.

Peter Lorre

Cairo

For mind reader and clairvoyant Cairo, Peter Lorre was alive and kicking in my head. Cairo would be East European, cunning, sly - is he a fake or does he really have such powers? What has he potentially already unleashed in the manor?Wherever there is trouble you might find Cairo. Very cutting in his patter and a coward at his core. A villain of the piece? Well he's no hero.

Peter Cushing

Adolphus Scarabus

Adolphus Scarabus, parapsychologist, medium and author - scholar in the Dark Arts. An acclaimed Master in his field, world renowned and for most there is no doubt of his power. However he is very much a target of Doctor Roy Earle's cynicism and distrust. His main reason for accepting the invitation to Blaine Manor is the safety of the others, he has no doubt of the terrifying power of the house. This guy was Peter Cushing right from the off in my imagination.

Vincent Price

Christopher Lee

James Mason

Vincent De Lambré

Custodian of Blaine Manor, and all too aware of the dark power of the house. He was very close to the owner. On the outside he is bearing a burden over what happened to the owner, Mister Tyler, but what's going on on the inside with him? Vincent started out as Vincent Price in my head - of course, how many haunted houses did Vincent Price find himself inside? But the more I wrote, the more I found elements of the dark strength of Christopher Lee with a hint of a sly 'North by North West' James Mason.

There's a broader nod to Vincent Price elsewhere in the show, see if you can spot it...or hear it perhaps...? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Dirk Bogarde

Phillip Stone as Delbert Grady in The Shining

Grady

Grady as the butler of Blaine Manor was always going to be very 'English with great manners', a faithful servant of the house for some 37 years, man and boy. He arguably has more knowledge of the house than anyone. Dirk Bogarde played the part in my head as I was writing, though many that have seen the play have felt the presence of Phillip Stone's Delbert Grady from The Shining. See what you think.

So that completed the 'base models' for the characters. Once the actors were cast though the true magic started to happen, this is truly a firecracker ensemble with all the actors playing out of their skins...come and see them, it's the least they deserve and you should treat yourself too...you'll love every minute.

Left to right: Andrew Yates as Cairo, Jo Haydock as Vivian Ruttledge, Phil Dennison as Adolphus Scarabus, Peter Slater as Doctor Roy Earle, Ed Barry as Vincent De Lambré and Joe O'Byrne as Grady. Newcomer James Allen now plays the part of Adolphus Scarabus as Phil had to move on from the production, both have and are creating wonderful versions of the character. Image by Darren McGinn