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If you love zombie movies, chances are George A Romero’s genre-defining undead classic ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is a holy text for you. This low-budget indie film has only gained in cultural resonance since it came out in 1968, as British theatre company Imitating the Dog proved this year by spinning it into a highly acclaimed stage play at Leeds Playhouse and then taking it on the road. Then, of course, you know, events happened and the run was off.
But if there’s a cruel irony in having your production of an infection classic curtailed by an actual infection, the people behind this ace riff on ‘Night of the Living Dead’ have taken it in their stride – okay, groaning shuffle – by posting the play online for people to watch free of charge. Check the windows are barred, the doors are double locked and then settle back to enjoy this genuinely clever, unsettling piece of multimedia theatre. You won’t regret it.
The concept behind ‘Night of the Living Dead – Remix’ is deliriously high-wire: Romero’s movie is projected on one overhead screen while the cast reproduces every shot in the film on stage using cameras passed between them. Those, in turn, appear on an adjacent screen. All of it is interlaced with key moments from 1960s American history. It must have been exhausting to execute, but it’s a ton of fun to watch.
It gets the seal of approval from the original zombie-battlers, too. Romero died in 2017 but two of his cast members, Russ Streiner (Johnny) and Judith O’Dea (Barbra), recorded a special message to introduce the play.
A star-studded ‘Les Misérables’ concert is available to download to raise money for charity.
Why not join Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and Lenny Henry for a ‘pub quiz’ for the National Theatre?