Based on a true story, Stalking the Bogeyman is a harrowing insight into the experience of playwright David Holthouse. At the age of seven, he was raped by the teenage son of family friends. We meet David 25 years later, when he’s begun plotting the murder of his rapist after discovering he’s moved to the same city.
Holthouse, alongside playwright Markus Potter (and input from three other writers), has created a complex, compelling piece of storytelling that could so easily have been one-dimensional and all about revenge. But there are so many other important layers to the script. They have managed to articulate all of the conflicting emotions of betrayal, pain, revenge and fear in a distinctly human way.
Graeme McRae’s portrayal of David throughout his life is full of nuance and subtlety. He 
has a beautiful vulnerability and a compelling strength at the same time, and he is the driving force in this tight ensemble. Radek Jonak is Hothouse’s Bogeyman, the jock 17-year-old who becomes a child’s greatest fear. Jonak is stomach-churning in his malevolence, and we’re rooting for David to get his revenge.
Joining them on stage are Deborah Jones, Alexander Palacio, Anne Tenney and Noel Hodda as various figures in David’s life. As his parents, Jones and Hodda find a lovely dynamic. Hodda also earns some chuckles as a gun shop owner and a sleazy little league coach.
Director Neil Gooding uses astute restraint in what could have been a dramatic and artificial retelling of a difficult story. Instead, it’s a production of clarity and respect, 
which is exactly what it requires.
Set design by Lauren Peters is particularly good. It’s a fluid set, with plenty of detail and attention to evoking a 70’s home, yet is able to move into the present.
Stalking the Bogeyman is a first-hand account of childhood rape, and offers a glimpse into the devastation and destruction that ensues later in life. Holthouse beautifully articulates the heartbreaking fears of a child who is frightened of seeing the Bogeyman again, and of a man who is terrified of becoming one.
Alana Kaye – Theatre Now
Stalking The Bogeyman
Adapted by Markus Potter & David Holthouse
Additional Writing by Shane Ziegler, Shane Stokes & Santino Fontana
25 May – 23 June 2018
TUE – SAT: 8:00 PM / SUN: 5:00 PM
MATINEES: SAT 16 & 23 JUNE, 2:00 PM
Venue: Old Fitz Theatre
Theatre Company: Neil Gooding Productions and NewYorkRep, in association with Red Line Productions
Duration: n/a
