Published: October 27, 2025
If you missed the opening weekend of the USM Theatre department’s A Monster Calls, there’s no need to fret, as there are shows this Wednesday through Sunday. Directed by Rachel Price-Cooper, USM’s production of A Monster Calls is a heartstrings-tugging story about loss, love, and how complicated human emotions are. The story follows the young boy Conor, played by Luca Enriquez Capalbo, as he navigates his world turning upside down as his Mum, played by Lily Taylor, slowly loses her battle against cancer. Plagued by nightmares, bullies in school, and loneliness, Conor is visited by a monster, played by Jesse Murphy, who claims to come from the ancient Yew tree in his backyard, the tree his mother has pointed out to him since he was a baby. The monster tells Conor he will continue to visit him, always at 12:07, to tell him three absolutely true stories, until finally, Conor will tell him a true story of his own. In the end, the audience realizes the monster only sought to help Conor realize his own emotions and his own anger for the situation that has taken his normal life from him, and the toll of denying what Conor truly knows, that it will never go back to the way it was before.
If you couldn’t already tell by the spelling of Mum, this play is a British one, and all cast members did their best British accents to really transport the audience to a British high school and, of course, what the Brits refer to as a back “garden.” Impressively, many members of the cast played two to three different characters with costume changes, such as cast member Emma Graffam playing Lily, Farmer’s Daughter, and Parson’s Daughter, and the Free Press’s very own Jared Lennon playing Mr. Marl, King, and Apothecary. Although only having three set stage pieces splitting the stage, including Grandma’s house, the Yew tree, and Conor’s kitchen, the scene transitions were seamless, and it was easy for the audience to envision the imagined change of scenery, such as the school, a walk in the park, or a car ride.
Andrew Johnson, the Technical Director, Sound Designer, and Production Manager, should give himself some major credit. The sound design for the show was perfectly eerie, as most of the monsters’ dialogue featured an echoey feedback, displaying the monsters’ power and strength. The set design for the Yew tree was also fantastic. I would further explain what made it so cool, but I enjoyed being surprised by the detail, and I’ll leave you all the be surprised as well.
Every cast member gave their all to the opening weekend performances of A Monster Calls, and they have much more talent to showcase, so make sure to catch a performance of A Monster Calls from the show’s Wednesday through Saturday. For performance times and ticket prices, visit the USM events website and search for A Monster Calls.
