The Eaves delivers haunting theatrical performance
The opening of a door is an incredibly ordinary thing, and yet the storytelling in The Eaves was strong enough to turn it into a room full of gasps.
When I arrived at The Nocturne Theatre, I could faintly hear their production of The Little Mermaid coming from the main stage. But instead of indulging in Disney nostalgia, I was there to see a show about a ghost hiding away in a dark, tucked-away corner of an attic. And in a bit of irony, I was ushered upstairs to a second theater hidden in a small, tucked-away corner of the building.
Following a pre-show retelling various “real” ghost stories said to have taken place within the theater, we took our seats and experienced a fictional ghost story that still felt unnervingly real.
The Eaves follows single mother Lorraine (Kayla Fast) as she hires a paranormal investigator (Kelly Krippendorf) in an attempt to rid her home of a ghost threatening her daughter. Staged with Lorraine and The Investigator in the foreground and an attic bedroom looming in the background, the audience can see what Lorraine can’t: her daughter Emily (Hannah Rubenstein) and her encounters with a paranormal manifestation Lorraine calls “The Shadow” (Dave Beaudrie).
As the story progresses, The Shadow makes its presence known in increasingly aggressive ways. At the same time, The Investigator struggles to unpack Lorraine’s complicated personal history in hopes of understanding the entity’s mystery.
You’d never know that The Nocturne Theatre staged The Eaves in just a matter of days. The technical elements were so precise they became seamless. You’d expect lighting to play a major role in a show with an antagonist called “The Shadow,” and you’d be right. The lighting drives the jump scares without ever calling undue attention to itself. The small theater space also works in the show’s favor, creating a proximity that never allows the audience to feel truly safe.
The writing presents a difficult challenge for the actors, demanding moments of tension, raw fear, and emotional complexity. Thankfully, the performers are more than up to the task. Fast and Krippendorf effortlessly build a relationship that becomes the emotional core of the story, genuinely making the audience worry for them as the stakes escalate. Beaudrie has little to no dialogue, but the physicality he gives The Shadow is so pronounced that his presence is felt even when he isn’t onstage. And Rubenstein’s performance carries an authenticity rarely seen in an actor so young.
But where The Eaves shines brightest is its writing. As the mystery unfolds, so does the narrative’s allegory. The show repeatedly returns to the idea of heirlooms; the eerie old house once belonged to Lorraine’s parents. Writer, director, and Nocturne co-owner Justin Meyer uses this as an allegory for mental health and generational trauma, weaving it seamlessly into a truly terrifying ghost story while avoiding the pitfalls of heavy-handedness.
Several twists and turns kept the audience on their toes. The speculations I overheard at intermission were very different from the conversations I heard after curtain call.
If you’re looking for a ghost story that will actually scare you, The Eaves will not disappoint. If you’re looking for a great piece of independent theatre, The Nocturne Theatre delivers.
