Ghost Light Theatricals' production of Caryl Churchill's The Skriker will premiere next week and promises a tale of dark magic, manipulation and fear.

Written by Churchill in 1994, the play tells the story of the Skriker, a dark, shape-shifting fairy drawn to desperation. After attaching herself to two teenage girls, the Skriker wreaks havoc with their lives, haphazardly granting minor wishes. Using dark magic, she ultimately drags both girls into a rotting underworld filled with a macabre ensemble of broken fairies. Helpless against her power, the girls become increasingly desperate to save themselves and each other.

"I was drawn to the challenge of telling a story using movement and very difficult language," said Artistic Director and founder Beth Raas-Berquist. "I am interested in the themes of societal taboos and environmentalism, as well as the stereotypes of women in fairytales explored in the script."

This is Raas-Bergquist's 13th play for Ghost Light Theatricals, who has also directed plays at almost every fringe theatre in Seattle and teaches at Seattle Children's Theatre, The Village Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, and Youth Theater Northwest.

Her last production was the Greek "Mother Phoeker", an adaptation of Oedipus. and she said The Striker is similar to Mother Phoeker in that they are both explorations of societal taboos - incest in Oedipus and infanticide in The Skriker.

"I think it's important for art to sometimes make us uncomfortable, and that's what drew me to both stories," she said.

Churchill is famous for her plays from the '70s which explore gender identity.
Raas-Bergquist said she studied The Skriker as part of a directing class in college in the '90s.

"The Skriker resonates with me because it's a story about our most basic fears. Here is a creature that feeds from the energy of the desperate and the newly born, and a cadre of angry fairies that haunt people who are about to die, drown women, and eat children," Raas-Bergquist said.

"With no discernible motivation, she creates turmoil in already chaotic lives. To me, that kind of reasonless bedlam is really scary, as are the characters from British folklore brought to life in the play. I can't predict how our production will resonate with audiences, but I certainly hope it fascinates and terrifies them the way it does me, and makes them examine their assumptions and fears."
 
The Skriker premieres on Friday, March 11. Tickets are $15 for general public and $12 for students and seniors. They are available at the door or at BrownPaperTickets.com.
Ghost Light Theatricals performs at The Ballard Underground at 2220 N.W Market St.