Theatre 2025: The Veil @ Crow's Theatre

I arrived at Crow’s Theatre to watch The Veil with some trepidation since I had been forewarned that it is a creepy show with elements of horror and effects meant to make you jump.  This genre is definitely not in my wheelhouse or comfort zone, so I braced myself for what was to come.  Seeing the promotional image for the show did nothing to ease my unrest.  This modern gothic-horror psychological thriller deals with the ramifications of “selling your soul to the devil” to achieve your deepest desires and whether the prize is worth the cost and consequences.  There have been other plays with similar themes in the past including Faust, The Picture of Dorian Grey and even the musical comedy Damn Yankees.  This Canadian play conveys its plot in an innovative, low-key fashion with restrained use of lighting, sound, and even scent effects to set the mood.  There weren’t any scenes with blood and gore, creepy dim lights and shadows, thunder and bolts of lightning or typical scary musical queues.  Instead, most of the tension and scares were left to your own imagination as your listen riveted to story.

We were seated in Crow’s Theatre’s smaller, intimate Studio Theatre space facing glass windows that revealed the streetlights outside, the passing traffic, and the reflections of the audience.  My husband Rich and I were commenting on how distracting that would be during the play when suddenly a man appears outside, pounding on the glass pane and demanding to be let in.  It is the unnamed protagonist of this one-man show who comes running in through a side door after being admitted by an usher. He silently pulls down blackened blinds to cover the windows, then proceeds to pour salt from a container to create a large circle around a chair and table.  Throughout the one-act play, he paces around this “protective magic circle” as he tells his tale, beginning with urgent pleas that “we have to believe him!!”.

The man explains that he is an overly ambitious lawyer who would go to any lengths to make partner at his law firm, including working ridiculous hours, manipulating clients who have hopeless cases to generate more billable hours, and neglecting his wife and young child. When the senior partner Ed offers to make him partner if he agrees to take over the burden of a dreaded curse that has plagued Ed for years, the man eagerly agrees.  He does not really believe in the veracity of the curse and sees this as a way to gain the power, money and glory that he craves.  He soon finds out that the deal that he made releases an evil spirit which is the manifestation of all his past sins and misdeeds.

Once he takes on this curse, the malevolent supernatural force begins to rear its ugly head in a slow and sinister fashion.  As the man describes the strange occurrences that start to happen to both him and his family, the set is punctuated with subtle flashes of lights, and an ominous low hum that you need to strain to hear.  Repeatedly he whips around, trying to catch sight of a presence that he feels behind his shoulder.

Actor Bryon Abalos is mesmerizing as he holds the audience spellbound for 85 minutes spinning his tale. Continuously traversing around the salt circle as he passes close to the audience who are seated on three sides of the stage, he pauses and looks directly into your eyes, making you feel like he is talking directly to you alone.

The premise and manner of presentation is very interesting although I did not feel that the repercussions of the curse actually paralleled the man’s described “sins”.  However, the conclusion of the play was one of the most unique finales that we have ever experienced and left the audience in shocked, uneasy silence for several minutes.  Once again, Crow’s Theatre has programmed a daring, thoughtful show and major kudos to them for continuing to support Canadian theatre.