And suddenly you’re in one…
I made sure that I took a scarf along with me to the Duke of York Theatre; a subtle prop to hide behind. Before seeing the show I only had its title to go by, along with the show’s website which, if I’m honest, made me wish I wasn’t seeing it.
Written and directed by The League of Gentlemen’s Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman, the co-creator and director of Derren Brown’s television and stage shows, Ghost Stories creates an uneasy mood as soon as you enter the theatre. Walking down to the stalls and our seats, the sound of dripping water and eerie echoes fills the passage ways.
I won’t disclose anything about the plots of Ghost Stories. Each audience is asked to protect their secret; the impact depends on unexpectedness. However, the well executed scenes by Ghost Stories’ small cast engage our nervous energies which play heavily to our submerged desires and doubts on the paranormal.
The contemporary script engages the audience, slows down the pace and creates subtle tension that you know is there and can’t escape from. One minute you are the laughing, and then across the audience you can feel a ripple of tension build until there is an explosion of noise and you can’t help but scream…
Is it a truly disturbing production? No, I wouldn’t say so. Even for me, who hasn’t got the stomach for anything scary. If you are looking for a show to rival that of the top horror films, then you will probably be disappointed. Ghost Stories uses the fact that the audience is trapped in the amphitheatre. You can’t mute it, or switch it off. You have to watch and become part of the ghost stories and the horror that unfolds around them.
