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Th ursday, October 19, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 21Serving your community since 1856 Time for � ight or � ght Annual UnHinged Festival asks local audiences if they're prepared to be scared on Oct. 28 By Bob Vrbanac Chronicle Sta� The things that give you the shivers in the middle of the night and make you wake up in a cold sweat will be explored dur- ing the seventh annual UnHinged Festival of Disturbing � eatre. Just in time for Halloween, Flush Ink Productions is asking what are you afraid of? � ose brave enough to � nd out can attend shows starting this week and extending to Oct. 28 at the K-W Lit- tle � eatre at 9 Princess St. E., Waterloo. � e festival explores the darker side of human nature and the psychological and physical scares that help activate our � ight or � ght instincts. "All the plays have a disturbing � a- vour," said Paddy Gillard-Bentley, artis- tic director of Flush Ink Productions, whose own play Haunting the Penum- bra is a dangerous journey in the mind of a psychopath. "Some are psychologi- cal, others like Fruitcake sound really nice when you think she is teaching us how to make fruitcake, but she's talking about a childhood that was really dys- functional that included a murder and all kinds of weird, creepy things." The local playwright's piece explores the mind of a killer who has killed for the first time. What triggers him, and how do the stories of his vari- ous past lives lead him to repeat the cycle of violence. "The stories that come out of his past lives are also about killers," said Gillard-Bentley. "I actually researched the heck out of sociopaths and have become a walking encyclopedia on them. "There are a lot of examples of it nowadays, like Donald Trump, and it's a very easy disorder to see that people are still so surprised at what he does. He cannot be the person you want him to be because it's not within his makeup, and whenever he does some- thing ask yourself what will it do for him because that's the bottom line." John Cormier takes on the role of the main character trying to � gure out why he does what he does, and why his blighted spirit comes back for more. It's a concept that leaves an instant impression on the audience, and has them looking around their own lives. "It's best to get this stu� on the page rather than having it rattle around in your brain," said Gillard-Bentley. "I think people are intrigued by the peo- ple who don't think like them -- look at the popularity of all the crime shows." Other productions include Staircase #17 by local playwright Dave Ruetz. It seems to be set in a dark, dystopian future but there are elements of it that remind the audience of events of today. In the uncertain times we live in, it's unclear whether we can tell the di� er- ence anymore. "For me that's way more scary than looking in the mind of a criminal," said Gillard-Bentley. "One psychopath you can handle, but what do you do when the world is full of them. "The interesting part of this piece is are we talking about a future society or what we are on the brink of, and to think of the breakdown of society, that to me is the worst." Everybody Dies in December is a one-woman show written and per- formed by Nancy Kenny from Otta- wa set in a morgue. To say it is a dark comedy would be no surprise, but it explores living with death and the life of a third generation funeral director named Claire. The show has been a hit at other fringe festivals and the play won outstanding solo performance at the London Fringe Festival and best Drama at the Atlantic Fringe Festival. "She grew up in a funeral home," said Gillard-Bentley. "This is a very interesting take on that experience." � e festival also featured a special performance of the aforementioned show Fruitcake by Irish playwright Alice Barry, which played in Toronto before finding a spot in the local fes- tival. The UnHinged Festival also fea- tures a number of one-act plays that came out of the recent Write or Flight Response night Flush Ink Productions held for local playwrights on Oct. 6. Four brave playwrights were sent to disturbing local locations where they were left to write a short play or hone an idea that comes to them in that type of creative crucible. It was an experiment in how envi- ronment can contribute to art, and a� ect what comes through on the page. "We really encouraged them to come with a clear head and that they don't have a piece in mind when they do it," said Gillard-Bentley. "We want- ed them to let the environment speak to them." When left to your own devices sometimes you find some interesting things rattling around in there. "One of the playwrights felt he was in such a disturbed place in his own mind right now, so I left him alone to write from his own mind because it was already a disturbing place," said Gil- lard-Bentley. "And his play is brilliant -- it's a beautiful piece of theatre." Gillard-Bentley said they one- act shows can produce some creepy conundrums. For more information about the UnHinged Festival, or for tickets, visit � ushink.net or email tickets@� ushink. net. ARTS FOCUS WATERLOO CHRONICLE Time for � ight or � ght WATERLOO CHRONICLE SUBMITTED PHOTO Nancy Kerry wrote and stars in the black comedy Everybody Dies in December. 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