Following his acclaimed directing debut The Great Gatsby – which toured for eight months across 11 countries, including a sold-out, critically praised London fringe season (★★★★ & ★★★★★ reviews) – Leopold Benedict returns with a bold new touring production.

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This kaleidoscope of Poe’s short stories and poetry is brought vividly to life by a cast of five through original music, physical theatre, live instruments, and immersive soundscapes. Deliberately conceived to be comprehensible for second-language English audiences, it blends clear storytelling with rich visual and sonic design.

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Poe – although one of America’s most celebrated story-writers – set more of his tales in Europe, making this an especially resonant experience for European audiences. The journey of the piece fares through gothic landscapes from the Rhine to England, the dungeons of the Spanish Inquisition, the wine cellars of Italy, the murderous streets of Paris, and even the skies above Rotterdam in a hot-air balloon.

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While Poe is perhaps best remembered for his dark tales of mystery and horror (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Black Cat, The Pit and the Pendulum), this production also showcases his range: the first modern detective story (The Murders in the Rue Morgue), a thrilling sea-voyage (MS. Found in a Bottle), early science fiction (The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall).

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The result is a visually and sonically rich theatre piece – at once a tribute to Poe’s genius and an invitation to experience his work in the places and spirit in which it was imagined.

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​This thrilling detective play, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe—the master of the macabre and the pioneer of detective fiction tells the story of his life through the stories he created.   Devised by the ensemble in September 2025, it weaves horror, intrigue, and psychological tension into a case steeped in Poe’s haunting themes.  As the story unravels, enigmatic clues and shadowy figures from his iconic tales blur the line between reality and the supernatural, drawing the audience into a world of eerie suspense." Through the use of lighting, music and technical effects, the stories are presented in a very understandable, thrilling and dramatic fashion.​ A production aimed at school audiences that unfolds around a gripping mystery.

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Stories featured in the play:
   •    The Black Cat
   •    The Pit and the Pendulum
   •    The Tell-Tale Heart
   •    The Murders in the Rue Morgue
   •    The Raven
   •    MS. Found in a Bottle
   •    The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall
   •    The Cask of Amontillado
   •    Ligeia

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