Writers & Directors: Nina Atesh & Alexander Wright
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Tainted Trinkets“
4 / 5
Uncle Monty’s Antique Shop curiously doesn’t show up on Google maps, and definitely doesn’t have a social media presence, but anyone that manages to stumble across it will find the shelves packed with items old and new, all of which holding their own little story…
One influencer ‘The Tourist’ (Nina Atesh) thinks she’s struck gold, filming the mysterious shop ready to post with a “hidden gems” style intro, but Uncle Monty’s (Nicholas Benjamin) strange demeanour and lack of WiFi in the shop quickly puts her plan on hold. Instead, she’s intrigued by the items displayed, and realises that she may also need to leave something of her own behind, to add to his curated collection.
The shop, and interactions between Monty and the tourist, mainly serve as a placeholder for four other mini storylines linked to various items in the shop, creating an intriguing anthology of individual tales, though they are very entertaining as a pair, and do a great job of establishing the creepiness of the impending stories very early on. The four items in question – a camera (The Photographer), gun (Deadlocked), radio (Murmurs) and laptop (Susannah) all have a very different quality to them, all only lasting around 15 minutes but successfully conveying the story within them.
Murmurs featuring Shanice Peilaire and Ryan Williams, is my personal favourite, the unsettling atmosphere and uncomfortable interactions between the couple immediately putting the audience on edge, with the supernatural whispers from the radio quickly elevating the intensity. Susannah takes a more futuristic approach, with a scientific lecture presented by Akshay Sharan, about his AI robot (played by Peilaire) who initially appears malleable and content, but quickly shows a darker side to technology that may be harder to contain. Deadlocked (Sharan & Williams) features two soldiers fighting to leave a room, while The Photographer (Peilaire, Sharan & Williams) focuses on capturing a moment in time during a rigid regime.
Each of the performers do a great job within each narrative – Williams successfully adapts his accent to easily signify his three separate characters, Peilaire shows emotion brilliantly (and lack of it while she is a robot!), while Sharan is charismatic in his role as a lecturer and embarks on a well rehearsed fight scene with Williams, choreographed by Joseph Emms. An engaging, entertaining anthology that perfectly suits a spooky October evening.
Runs until 17th October 2026
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