By Xavier Smerdon
THINGS that go bump in the night are being mixed with a good laugh to bring Werribee’s history to life.
For almost nine years Elaine Beek and her talented troupe of actors have been running the hugely successful play What Was That? at the Werribee Mansion.
The show explores the scary and funny truth and fiction surrounding the Chirnside family, who lived in the Mansion until the early part of the 20th Century.
Elaine, who created the historical play and also plays the part of the Chirnside’s maid, said audiences always reacted positively to the performance.
“Different audiences react differently but it tends to be infectious,” she said.
“If one person is really scared or laughing lots, then the rest of the group follows them.”
Elaine said the scariest thing for most audiences was just how much of the play’s storyline is true.
“We’ve turned the facts of what happened into the scariest part of the play,” she said.
“People always come up to us at the end and say ‘did that really happen?”’
But Elaine was quick to reassure audience members who scare easily that they will not be chased out of the mansion screaming.
“It’s tongue in cheek scary,” she said.
“Your watching over your shoulder the whole time, but it’s not deadly scary.”
The theatrical tours of the Mansion can accommodate for a maximum 26 people at a time.
For more information call 9742 3068.
