Published: 31 January 2011
by SARAH MARSH

AUDIENCES filter into a dark-lit theatre with a 1930s stage set out before them, with music to match. 

The Long Mirror is one of JB Priestley’s lesser known works. Written in 1940, it has not been professionally staged in Britain since 1952 – and it is clear why. It is a brave play to take to the stage because it requires audiences to believe fully in the supernatural – which will not be to everyone’s taste. 

The play tells the story of a young man, Michael Camber, who escapes to a Welsh hotel in a secret rendezvous with his wife, attempting to save their marriage. However, upon his arrival another guest staying at the hotel, “a rather extraordinary girl”, Branwen Elder, is set to change his life forever when she claims to have psychic powers tying her to Michael. 

Startlingly, JB Priestley claims this story is based on true events, saying: “I did not heighten the real story (for stage) but, if anything, tended to modify some of its more fantastic features.”

Perhaps the main problem with this script is that the drama is not strong enough to carry you over the disbelief of the supernatural elements. Nonetheless, the actors and the setting manage to capture the eeriness of the story; creating an unnerving and unshakable tension throughout. 

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