Berberian Sound Studio review: This homage to giallo horror films is a supernatural assault on the senses

Berberian Sound Studio is a pedestrian name for a pretty out-there theatrical experience. Based on a horror film directed by Peter Strickland and starring Toby Jones, it was lavished with praise on the art film circuit when it was released in 2012. Now it’s a play in the Donmar Warehouse, whose intimate seating arrangements and wooden beams create brilliant acoustics for a piece that’s as aural and it is visual.

It centres around Gilderoy an amateur British recording enthusiast who receives a letter from Italian director Giancarlo Santini inviting him to be the sound director on his new film. Once in Italy, he’s immediately put at unease by a brusque producer who uses violent, sexual threats to coax blood-curdling performances out of his female voiceover artists. Plus, Gilderoy discovers, the film he’s making is part of the ‘giallo’ tradition, most known for birthing the scarlet-splashed nightmares of Dario Argento. His aesthetic lives on in the sinister, red downlights of the studio and the throbbing soundtrack.

Slowly, Gilderoy slips over the edge of sanity and there’s even a touch of body horror for those unperturbed by the psychological menace.

Those looking for a gripping narrative are likely to be disappointed; this is more of a tableau, a piece of performance art designed to unsettle through sound and colour. Sit back, though, let the fear wash over you, and you’ll still be feeling on edge come the Tube ride home.