The Rimers of Eldritch: Campus Reactions

The Baylor Players’ production of The Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson in early November, as usual, drew a fairly large crowd of spectators from the local Baylor community and beyond. As many expected, Rimers’s unusual setting, themes, and content prompted a very diverse set of responses from the Baylor community. Some praised the Players’ authentic representation of Rimers’s backwoods Eldritch, Missouri setting, while others criticized content they perceived as “indecent” or “inappropriate.” Still others expressed that the plot was simply too opaque to follow.

The majority, however, including headmaster Scott Wilson, praised the maturity and professionalism with which the cast and crew handled the production. They acclaimed the depth of the  characters and the powerful, simplistic style of the stage design. They commended the Players’ coordination and dedication on stage, as well as the expertise of the technical roles involved off stage.

However, several did not share this enthusiasm. Some bemoaned Rimers’s confusing structure and hard-to-follow jumps in time. They said that Rimers’s complicated and out-of-order storyline is “nearly impossible” to follow and that they did not understand what they believed to be key story elements at the show’s conclusion. The most critical of Rimers, however, were those who voiced concerns over its graphic nature and mature content. Some asserted that Rimers is simply “too mature for a high school cast and high school audience,” citing the graphic nature of some of the scenes, especially the notorious ending. Some complained only about the ending scene, saying that without it, they would have no objections at all.

In the face of this diverse criticism, only one thing is certain: the Players, undeterred, will return in May to deliver another production.