by Frank Blocker
Originally commissioned by LA’s The Visceral Company and produced as a solo play. Seven characters tell the classic story in monologue, with an introduction that includes Lovecraft’s short story “The Hound.” Adaptable as solo play or multi-actor.
Watch the filmed version of the LA production
Characters
PROFESSOR GEORGE ANGELL, VoiceOver, ARCHEOLOGIST’s uncle
ARCHEOLOGIST/NARRATOR/A WITCH
HENRY WILCOX
INSPECTOR JOHN RAYMOND LEGRASSE
WILLIAM WEBB
CASTRO
MRS. JOHANSSEN
GUSTAF JOHANSSEN
Reviews
“The adaptation builds suspense at just the right pace and keeps the audience enthralled” – The Lovecraft Ezine
“Deftly surmounts the difficulty of getting Lovecraft off the page, a difficulty that has defeated many a previous adaptation” – Hollywood Gothique
“It’s a pleasure to say that Frank Blocker’s one-man performance of “The Call of Cthulhu” is a reverent but never tedious return to the source material. Ably assisted by puppeteers Marielle Michele, Milena Matos and Rosie Santilena, Blocker inhabits all of the characters found in the story: The narrator, the police detectives and academics investigating the Cthulhu Cult, and more.” – CreepyLA.com
“A roller coaster ride to doomsday that is sure to please any fan of odor or dark fantasy” – LA Beat
“Chilling and satisfying.” – LA Weekly
Various user reviews – GoldStar.com
History
Blocker was commissioned by LA’s The Visceral Company to adapt The Call of Cthulhu for the stage. He consulted the company’s director, Dan Spurgeon and famed splatter punk horror author John Skipp (both Lovecraft experts and gifted directors and writers), which helped keep the script true to its source. The structure revealed itself as the original tells the view of Cthulhu from several perspectives, relating them through storytelling or recounting of the past.
The play was well-attended with some sold out productions, and the run was extended.
Short story “The Hound” was employed as an opening allegory for the Cthulhu myth while performing a ritual to begin the play. When the story is told by all the related characters, the narrator ends the play by completing his incantation: a call to raise the Great One and bring him forth. When you know of Cthulhu, he eats you first.
Frank Blocker 