←Recommendations of THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS

THE KEEPER’S QUARTERS is a haunting, beautifully constructed psychological thriller that blends gothic suspense with an emotionally resonant exploration of artistic obsession, isolation, and memory. Craig Houk has created a chilling, elegant, and highly producible new play. The sharp and intelligent dialogue will be a blast for the actors to perform.

Yes, Hitchcock, Stephen King, John Millington Synge's "Riders to the Sea" all come to mind, as well as any engaging detective story. It's also one of the most - if not the most - original ghost stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I say "ghost" story, but could it be something closer to a psychological thriller? In any event, Craig Houk has crafted something quite unique with "The Keeper's Quarters". This is a truly fascinating tale which merits many productions. Nice!!!

In the gloomy world of Craig Houk's lighthouse, currently occupied by Evelyn, a popular novelist, we don't know who is malevolent and who is just quirky. We don't know whether the mysterious and frightening goings-on are the result of the past and present interacting or whether things are happening in real life, or in Evelyn's head as she writes her latest book, or as a result of actual paranormal activity. Audiences will be debating those questions long after the final blackout. Nicely done!

This play is a spiraling staircase of dual, time traveling plots and paintings, gaslighting, stolen lives, literary heroines and anti heroines – as well as a few less than heroic heroes – all of it wrapped into an original and wholly Houkian portrait of creepy, riveting horror. A definite recommend. And definitely recommended to read it in the daylight.

In THE KEEPER'S QUARTERS by Craig Houk, there's an exciting and sinister current that runs from the first page through the surprising conclusion. The dialogue is very fluid as it shifts through time periods where the characters put the pieces of a puzzle together that stretches across centuries. I also loved the setting of an old lighthouse that feels like a character itself, complete with its own secrets and desires. A play you'll definitely race to finish and imagine in your head long after.

The Keeper's Quarters has a structure I love: a single setting in two different time periods, with action and intrigue that echoes and overlaps. It's an enticing set-up, and Craig Houk ups that ante by doubling the actors across time, disorienting us (and his protagonist) about what exactly we're seeing, and why. Add in a slew of practical special effects, witty dialogue, and questionable motives, and you've got an irresistible thriller about creativity, money, and storytelling itself. Haunting.

A briskly paced ghost story, mystery story, and journey towards redemption through art in one elegantly constructed play. Houk expertly keeps all of the elements in balance and drops in humor and dread at the right moments. The past and the present reflect each other, and we get closely involved with all of the characters. The sense of specific place is vivid and enhances both the sense of isolation and the comfort. I love the closing monologue and so much else about this exhilarating piece.