A vampire could choose hunting grounds worse than a 19th century cargo ship, where the victims have no way to escape or call for help as he picks them off one by one. For horror writers, such a ship has the same advantages as the isolated island in Agatha Christie’s serial killer classic, “And Then There Were None,” with few places to hide, but infinite potential for fostering paranoia among a dwindling group of survivors.
Irish author Bram Stoker certainly understood the claustrophobia factor when he penned the seventh chapter of “Dracula,” his epistolary novel that has inspired countless retellings since its 1897 publication. In a brief but chilling passage, Stoker presents a captain’s log supposedly recovered from the Demeter, a Russian ship run aground in a storm off the northeast coast of England, with no survivors except for a large dog. The captain recounts a nightmarish voyage in which his crew members vanish, one after another, until he’s left with only the first mate, who’s rapidly losing his sanity.
Chicago-based playwright Timothy Griffin takes this excerpt as the starting point for “Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter,” now in its world premiere at City Lit Theater and co-produced by Black Button Eyes Productions. As directed by Ed Rutherford, the producing artistic director of Black Button Eyes, this atmospheric play is good fare for theatergoers who are horror curious but easily spooked. It’s not too gory, there aren’t many jump scares, and the psychological suspense is intriguing but not overwhelming. Although the script leaves a few loose ends, overall, the production offers a satisfying gothic-lite experience.
Brian Parry gives a weighty performance as Captain Gorodetsky, who opens the show with a monologue describing what it feels like to bleed to death. He also muses about the Homeric tale in which Odysseus orders his crew to bind him to the ship’s mast so he can hear the siren’s song without succumbing to its power. In the doom-laden tones of a biblical prophet, Gorodetsky proclaims the futility of everything he and his men have learned while aboard the Demeter: “How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise!”
Following this portentous prologue, the action skips back to the beginning of their journey, when an aristocratic customer pays to transport 50 boxes of soil from Transylvania to England. Claiming an interest in botany, the absent count sends his servant, Yorga (Herb Metzler), to accompany the cargo. Though the captain is skeptical of taking a passenger onboard, Yorga assures Gorodetsky that he’ll cause no trouble. With an implied wink to the audience, he genially explains that he won’t require any rations, since he’s an old man and can subsist on very little; he also tends to sleep during the day and therefore won’t bother the crew.
Griffin and Rutherford take their time building the suspense from here, first attempting to paint a picture of a harmonious life at sea. Gorodetsky comes across as a fatherly leader who repeats his favorite puns to anyone who will humor him. Members of the crew represent a range of stock characters: Petrofsky (Nathaniel Kohlmeier) as the irreverent rake, Munir (Cameron Austin Brown) as the nervous newcomer and Gusa (Jennifer Agather) as the lovable youngster. While their chemistry and humor sometimes feel forced, these early scenes establish that the men generally respect and like each other.
But their camaraderie breaks down when lone crew members begin to disappear at night, stalked by a cloaked and hooded figure that the survivors can never find, no matter how thoroughly they search the ship. Much of the carnage is depicted through projections (designer DJ Douglass), puppetry (Jeremiah Barr) and sound effects (Joe Griffin). Violence designers Victor Bayona and Rick Gilbert also contribute fight choreography that was still in need of tightening up on opening weekend. Ruby Lowe’s set design, though functional, doesn’t allow for much of an element of surprise in the killer’s entrances.
The ship’s chief mate, Basarab (Alex Albrecht), emerges as a significant character whose backstory seems extraneous at first but later takes on more importance. Here, Griffin puts imaginative twists on Stoker’s limited source material, with mixed results. Several late reveals don’t fully connect the dots, but this ambiguity seems intentional, based on the playwright’s note in the program.
As a fan of the original novel, I generally enjoy “Dracula” retellings but haven’t yet worked up the courage to watch “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” the 2023 horror film based on the same excerpt as “Strange Cargo.” I had high hopes that this nautical play would scratch the same itch, and on the whole, it came close to doing so — a worthwhile way to kick off my seasonal lineup of spooky shows.
Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.
Review: “Strange Cargo: The Doom of the Demeter” (3 stars)
When: Through Nov. 23
Where: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Tickets: $38 at citylit.org
