Shadows and Gestures - Scripts After M R James

by Robert Lloyd Parry

In December 2005, Robert Lloyd Parry performed two ghost stories by M R James (1862–1936) in the Founder’s Library of The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Nearly 20 years later, what had been envisaged as a one-off event, has ballooned into “The M R James Project” – a celebration of the author’s life and work that has (so far) produced three documentaries, two short story anthologies, a guided walk, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, and seven stage shows. “Shadows and Gestures” collects the scripts for these shows; adaptations of fourteen of the best ghost stories ever written, for solo performance.

258 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely entertaining revisit of some of M R James' best stories. The extra stage directions and editorial touches are fascinating from a theatre point of view. The author's opening article on how he goes about adapting the stories, learning and performing them in his one man show is engrossing too.