Stephen Smith is an actor, theatre-maker, and Artistic Director of Threedumb Theatre – a four-time OFFIE-winning company known for award-winning digital and in-person theatre. His show One Man Poe has gone around the world, including places such as Dubai, Norway, Malaysia, and the USA. One Man Poe’, returns to the Edinburgh Fringe after a completely sold-out run and a Spookies Award win for Best Horror Solo Show last year. We caught up with him to find out more about his show. (He can be found as @steveyourlifeup and @3dumbtheatre on social media.)
How would you pitch One Man Poe to someone who likes HP Lovecraft?
If you love Lovecraftian horror, then my recommendation is to check-out Poe, simply because Lovecraft worshipped Poe, even referring to him as his “God of Fiction”, frequently mentioning him in his essays and letters. He adopted Poe’s style and incorporated many of the same themes and elements, particularly in his early works. And it doesn’t stop at Lovecraft – Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Alfred Hitchcock all revered Poe as the true Godfather of Gothic Horror.
And how would you pitch it to someone who doesn’t really get horror?
One Man Poe isn’t about jump scares or gore. It’s about atmosphere, storytelling, and human psychology. Even if horror isn’t your usual genre, you’ll be drawn in by the language, the theatricality, and the emotional depth. I’ve seen productions of Macbeth that are scarier than ‘One Man Poe’. It’s more like a gothic ghost story told around a fire – eerie, not grisly. I’ve performed One Man Poe in countless of schools over the years, mostly to Year 7s (aged 11 or 12), and so this is why the suitability of ‘One Man Poe’ is pitched at 12+.
Why have Poe’s stories stayed so popular?
I think Poe was the first horror writer that really tapped into the psychology of a murderer, or a mad person, and wrote these characters in the first person. His stories linger because they speak to the darkness we all try to ignore, but with such gorgeous and poetic language.
What’s the creepiest moment in each show?
In ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’, it’s when the heartbeat won’t stop. In ‘The Pit and the Pendulum,’ it’s the slow realisation of the different torture devices. In ‘The Black Cat’, it’s the final reveal in the wall. And in ‘The Raven’, it’s when he investigates what’s tapping on his chamber door…
What was the development process like?
It started during lockdown, I began creating “one-shot-live-films” of classic monologues. I presented ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ as a Facebook Live show in 2020, then ‘The Black Cat’ online in 2021. When theatres started opening up again, that’s when this turned into a live solo performance, adding ‘The Raven’ and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ into the mix. I named the show ‘One Man Poe’ and its first shows were at Watford Palace Theatre in October 2021. I worked with a composer (Joe Furey) and sound designer (Django Holder) to add a remarkable soundtrack, to aid the storytelling, and had a clear vision of how to distinctly differentiate the four characters; aesthetically (costume and make up), vocally and through physicality.
What ended up getting cut which, in hindsight, improved everything?
I’ve only really cut ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ and this was because some of the original wouldn’t translate well on stage. The other three are 99.9% verbatim to the original 1840s publication – where I may have cut or changed a word or two, so that it would be easier for a present-day audience to understand.
What’s the most demanding part of the show?
The physicality of the characters in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ and ‘The Raven’ is exhausting – in the first, the poor prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition undergoes several torture devices, and then the old man in ‘The Raven’ is bent-double, knock-kneed and trembles with terror. And then there’s the use of voice – 13’000 words of Poe’s language can take its toll. It’s like running a psychological marathon every night.
What’s the zaniest thing you’ve done to get this show made?
When sourcing the props back in 2021, I found the most perfect walking stick for the old man, and it was only £5 on Facebook Marketplace. There was only one catch – it was in Taplow and I was a two-hour bike ride away (I can’t drive but am a keen cyclist). I am not only a thrifty person, but a healthy one too, and so, picking a nice summer’s day to pick it up, I cycled two hours there, two hours back, for the perfect prop.
Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
It’s the Olympics of theatre – brutal, magical, and completely alive. An actor’s Disneyland. Last year’s run was a dream, so I had to come back and share these stories with new audiences. And I know that there is enough gothic literature fans in Edinburgh alone to warrant a full run in this, now much bigger, venue.
How similar is this to other projects you’ve worked on?
The first solo show I ever toured was a double-bill of Steven Berkoff plays called ‘Dog/Actor’, which I took to Edinburgh Fringe 2022, which featured zero props and set. Berkoff himself, once upon a time, tackled Edgar Allan Poe’s work, but I had my eyes on staging Poe years before I started delving into Berkoff’s repertoire of solo shows. I used ‘Berkoffian’ techniques to realise some of the stories in ‘One Man Poe’ – particularly ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’.
What is your favourite moment in the show?
It changes every night. I do love it when the audience find the rare glimmers of humour and allow themselves to laugh, even if it’s a laugh to cover their sheer terror.
Goblins or Ghosts?
Ghosts. The unseen is scarier.
Hearts or Ravens?
Ravens. They know things.
Pits or Pendulums?
Pendulums. A pit is just a pit. A pendulum can be quite mesmerising, and terrifying…
Truth or Beauty?
Truth. Always.
You can find out more about Stephen’s work with Three Dumb Theatre here, book tickets for shows here and follow their twitter here.
