Looking back at Ravenfest 21
Poetic Justice Productions at the opening of Ravenfest. Picture courtesy Charlie Gilmour
Ravenfest 2021 may not have been the gothic extravaganza we originally planned – thanks to the coronavirus pandemic – but it's fair to say a thrilling time was had by all.
Years in the planning, our big 2020 launch fell by the wayside with much of the world still staying indoors
One year later, lockdown lifted for long enough for us to stage a mini-fest: a two day celebration of the poet and author in the town whose streets he once trod.
Live theatre performances, gigs, a 'day of the dead' style walk through Irvine and even our much anticipated performance of The Masque of the Red Death in the midst of a full on masked ball fell by the wayside.
Instead, with funding support from North Ayrshire Council, the Poetic Justice team took over Irvine's splendid Townhouse for the night.
Tickets were limited, but to our delight they sold out.
Presenting a history of Poe in Irvine. Picture courtesy Charlie Gilmour
The audience were treated to performances from myself, Helen and Steven, with readings of some of Poe's best loved works. The show included The Conqueror Worm, The Black Cat, The Telltale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado as as our grand finale, The Raven.
The reading of The Cask took on an extra dimension when I spotted, writ large on the walls of the Townhouse chamber, the phrase: 'Nemo me impune lacessit', which translates as 'No one attacks me with impunity'. The very phrase appears in Poe's short story as the family motto of the cunning Montresor.
I'm not one for actorly flourishes, but I would have missed a chance if I hadn't pointed out the words on the wall of the chamber with an – ahem – elegant sweep of the arm...
We took a break from the Poe recitations to reveal the winners of our short story competitions.
Some months earlier, we decided to launch a competition for the best short stories in the style of Poe, in adult and under 18 categories. No more than 500 words, so a bit of a test.
And word certainly got out. The contest attracted dozens of entries, coming from the very north of Scotland to the English border.
And the quality was far, far better than we could ever have hoped for, with even published authors taking part.
North Ayrshire Provost Ian Clarkson. Picture Charlie Gilmour
North Ayrshire's Provost Ian Clarkson kindly agreed to reveal the adult winners and present the prizes. Thanks to our media sponsors, The Irvine Times, our winners in each category won £50, with second place landing £30 and third place a handy tenner.
The winning stories were read out by the Poetic Justice team – and made a big impression on the audience. Congratulations to the winners – and all the amazing and often chilling other entries we received. We're already looking forward to next year's competition
We were delighted by Provost Clarkson's support and enthusiasm for the festival and he expressed his hope that the event would be a regular fixture in the calendar.
Provost Clarkson and the Poetic Justice team at the Ravenfest opening 2021. Picture Charlie Gilmour
He also bravely admitted that the evening's final event, a showing of the Roger Corman/Vincent Price classic The Pit and the Pendulum, would be just the second movie he had ever watched in full. The other one being Braveheart. Personally, while Poe's story is completely made up, I fear it's still more historically accurate than Braveheart....
The socially distanced movie night was a big hit. In his pomp, nobody could chew the scenery like Vincent Prince in a Corman movie. And I mean that as the highest compliment. The presence of scream queen Barbara Steele in the film just made things even better. The revelation of her face when.... ach, no spoilers here.
Big thanks go to the North Ayrshire mobile cinema team, who made a huge contribution to the evening and who we hope to work with again soon. Thanks also to Irvine history expert and all round good guy Billy Kerr who was and remains an inspiration to us all in getting this whole thing started.
It was a great start – and we all left the Townhouse grinning and exhausted.
The second day of Ravenfest 21 focused on children's events. Now some would say kids and horror just don't mix. Those people haven't spent an afternoon watching Count Duckula in Dangermouse with a five year old and a seven year old...
With the help from our friends from the Well Happy Group, we organised mask and lantern making classes for some of the younger Irvine kids. And that event too sold out.
Then, tragically, the sun came out. At the end of October. In Scotland.
And the kids all headed to the beach.
And despite all the tickets being allocated, attendance at our event was not quite as good as we'd hoped. Despite that, the children really enjoyed the craft sessions – and made some truly colourful masks. Some of them may even have been a bit too scary for some of the Poetic Justice team...
We told the youngsters all about Poe and his time in Irvine as a child, so they learned some local history along with all the fun.
Once it began to get dark, the finalists in our under 18 short story arrived, accompanied by their families. This time, all the winners came from North Ayrshire – and frankly, each one would have been in strong competition for the adult prize too, such was the quality of their work.
After that, it was time for the graveyard tour. We took all the winners and their families on a spooky tour of Irvine's old kirkyard.
We took them from the Volunteer Rooms to the house owned by the sister of Poe's foster father John Allan, sitting opposite Irvine Townhouse. Most historians agree that the young Edgar would have spent some time staying in that very house.
We also took the party to the site of the old Irvine Grammar School, which Poe attended during his time in Irvine. The school may be gone, but it has left its mark on the town. The shadowy impression of the eves of the building remain on the house it once adjoined.
Edgar Allan Poe and Irvine’s old kirkyard
Handily, the site lies right next to the graveyard. It was here where Poe was sent to write down the inscriptions on the tombs.
There, we found the last resting places of members of the Allan clan, relatives of Poe's foster family. There was a Poe buried in the cemetery too, buried some years after Edgar, relation to the author unknown as yet.
The auld cemetery also contains burial sites of doomed sailors, young children who drowned, rebellious Covenanters who were executed, body snatchers and the judge who condemned Scotland's most famous bodysnatchers Burke and Hare, to their fates.
And yes, the history of Irvine's Auld kirkyard should be an interesting blog for the near future.
They key burial sites were illuminated by small electric candles, courtesy of the Kirk's Billy Kerr, allowing us to make our way through the cemetery and find them in the darkness.
Our party admitted they were amazed that so much Scottish history was on their very doorstep.
All in all, a decent first start for Ravenfest. Now for the big one...
Neil Smith