The Devil’s Violin combines a story master class alongside breath-taking music which could change your emotions in a heartbeat. It was an intriguing set-up which I have never experience before and which may not be for everyone, however. Despite this I rather enjoyed it.
The storyteller, Daniel Morden, provides us with a brilliant poetic performance with his voice providing both intrigue and shock. He gave me plenty of jump scares as well as plenty of laughs, with his horse riding within his story being hilarious, which as an audience member kept me engaged throughout. In my opinion the Music, performed by Sarah Moody and Oliver Wilson-Dickson on the Cello and Violin respectively, was phenomenal with it having the capability to bring both tears and joy.
What I found gives this performance individuality and may entice audiences is the intrigue that it provides you with. It makes you question where the story may go, this is furthered by the interval in which he questions you on where you believe the story may go collectively as an audience. It provides a superb narrative on why you should live your life to the fullest. It also promotes feminism and women rights, with one of the characters Raven refusing to marry her rescuers and despite getting kidnapped still wanting to explore the world. This was cheered immensely by audience members.
In conclusion, as a young person I found this performance mildly entertaining and I would almost definitely recommend this to older members of the public who will applaud this for its uniqueness. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, probably due to it being rather slow paced in our modern society, which is why I would definitely suggest this for older people.
Chapter Arts Theatre
Image by Paul Michael Hughes Photography T