It seems fitting that the casting for Bristol Riverside Theatre’s upcoming production The Mystery of Irma Vep was, well, mysterious.
Chris French, whom theater-goers will remember from last season’s Cabaret, heard that BRT was putting on the campy, suspenseful comedy by Charles Ludlam to kick off the 2023-24 mainstage season. He wanted to audition, and figured it would be a good idea to head to the Lincoln Center library to read the play beforehand.
As French was leaving the library, moments after finishing The Mystery of Irma Vep, he got an email from BRT’s co-producing director Amy Kaissar, who asked if he was interested in and available to do the show. However, this eerie timing wasn’t the biggest shocker for French.
Kaissar informed him that, if he accepted, he’d be starring in the two-person ensemble alongside Charles Osbourne, whom he has known since they attended University of North Carolina School of the Arts together 15 years ago, but never shared the stage.
“My mind was blown,” French told The Times. “This is a dream show for me and to hear that the other person would be Charles, it was like all of the puzzle pieces falling together in one beautiful moment.”
“This is one of my favorite comedic actors in the world,” Osbourne, who was last at BRT 11 years ago as Gene Kelly in What A Glorious Feeling, said of French. “When they talked to me about doing the show, they were like, ‘We’re thinking about this guy Chris French for the role, do you know him?’ There’s no one else I’d rather do this show with.”
The Mystery of Irma Vep, which celebrates its opening night this Thursday and runs through Oct. 22, is a Victorian-era horror parody that Osbourne described as “Scary Movie meets Downton Abbey.”
Each actor portrays a slew of characters throughout the approximately two-hour runtime, with both hailing the show as one of the most challenging they’ve ever done. Not only are they tasked with giving each character a unique persona, including accent and physicality, they must also change costumes in extremely quick succession. Some changes, they said, have to be completed in less than five seconds, with the actors soaked with sweat by about the second scene.
“It’s a marathon that you have to take at a sprint,” said French.
He and Osbourne both take on two main characters, as well as numerous minor characters … some of which aren’t even human. French portrays Lord Edgar, master of Mandacrest Estate who is mourning the loss of his first wife Lady Irma Vep, and maid Jane Twisden, whom he described as a “different kind of lady.” As for Osbourne, he plays Edgar’s new wife Lady Enid and groundskeeper Nicodemus Underwood, who despite having a creepy outer appearance — and wooden leg — is, said Osbourne, sweet and loveable.
Jane and Nicodemus aren’t thrilled about the new lady of the estate, and Edgar struggles to put his late wife’s memory to rest. His quest for answers leads him to the sarcophagus of an Egyptian princess of unexpected identity, with chaos ensuing from her release.
The show was originally produced by Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company, opening off-Broadway in New York City’s Greenwich Village in autumn 1984. The production featured Ludlam himself as Lady Enid and his partner Everett Quinton as Lord Edgar. After winning the 1985 Obie Award, the show went on to become the country’s most-produced play in 1991. Less frequently performed now, the show, with its 35 quick costume changes, numerous special effects and tongue-in-cheek adult humor, celebrates the horror genre and maintains the original vision of a multi-character two-man cast.
In order to prepare for The Mystery of Irma Vep, French and Osbourne watched old movies and read Victorian acting manuals to familiarize themselves with the era in which the show is based. They also spent a limited time at the table reading the script, ready to dive headfirst into the physical nature of the play.
Though Osbourne said The Mystery of Irma Vep has required more outside preparation than any other show they’ve done, he’s thrilled to be doing it all with a friend by his side. This organic chemistry, he said, will hopefully be evident to theater-goers, despite the fact that their characters mostly dislike each other.
“This production to me feels like a dream production of the show because the chemistry between the only two actors on stage is fire. People in the room have been laughing until they’re crying since the first read-through,” said Osbourne. “Plus, we get to throw the most epic shade at each other, in drag, for a Halloween show. It’s great!”
The timing of the show — right at the start of spooky season — is ideal. French stressed that it’s a “fun-scary” storyline, not The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
French and Osbourne can’t wait for audiences to experience the intricate costumes, detailed set (which has a few hidden secrets of its own) and surprising sentimental message.
“The central plot of the show is an English lord has remarried, but still hasn’t grieved the loss of his first wife. It’s the married couple trying to get over the past. There’s this message that’s woven in about overcoming grief and living with it,” said Osbourne, who added that Ludlam, a gay man, wrote The Mystery of Irma Vep during the AIDS crisis.
“It is about letting go, but not forgetting. Honoring those that we’ve lost. The ending of the play is very poignant and touching,” said French. “It’s a really funny, fun play. But my favorite theater, film, anything is when you’re laughing all the way, you’re completely opened up, and then things change. And you’re already so vulnerable because you’ve been laughing. I think this really achieves that at the end. You don’t realize it’s taking you there until it takes you there.”
Tickets for The Mystery of Irma Vep, directed by Victoria Rae Sook, are available at brtstage.org or by calling 215-785-0100. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe St. in Bristol. The Oct. 5 opening performance is followed by a catered reception.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at sbambino@newspapermediagroup.com
