REVIEW: Ghost Stories

© Hugo Glendinning

One of the most spine-tingling theatre shows comes creeping into Birmingham to scare audiences with three spooky tales.

Ghost Stories is now playing at The Alexandra Theatre.

This fright-inducing show first premiered in 2010 and proved such a hit with audiences and critics that it was transferred to London’s West End and then a world tour ensued which garnered even more attention which led to a motion picture being produced starring Martin Freeman (The Hobbit).

As good as the film is, and it really is good, it fails to capture the eerie and immersive energy of the stage show which is palpable and gripping. Whether an audience member is a believer in ghosts or a sceptic it makes no difference at all because the themes of guilt, loss and betrayal are things that have been haunting the human race since time immemorial.  

The creators of this thrilling one-act play - Jeremy Dyson (League of Gentlemen) and Andy Nyman – are both passionate about the Horror genre and Ghost Stories delivers supernatural scares balanced with black humour which alleviates the sense of creeping dread which permeates the show.

The concept for the show is simple yet powerful. A professor takes to the stage to deliver a lecture on parapsychology and discuss three cases where individuals claim to have experienced paranormal events. As each case unfolds, the stage transforms into the world of the story being discussed by the professor who is on a mission to debunk the supernatural.

This is the kind of rare show where the less the audience knows about the three tales – and how they come to life – the more vivid and exciting will be the experience.

This show makes dynamic and dramatic use of lighting (James Farncombe) and sound (Nick Manning). These two elements are a bedrock, the very backbone, of the show. Even before the show begins the use of sound as the audience takes to their seats is unexpected and unnerving.

There are many moments throughout the three stories where light and sound combine to create a truly unsettling atmosphere. Pools of inky shadows and ghostly mist seem to move and glide across the stage as discordant noise crackles above, behind and in front of the audience. The stage is shrouded in uneasy darkness which unlocks the mind and opens the door to allow all kinds of nameless phantoms to enter the subconscious.

The small cast (Dan Tetsell, Clive Mantle, David Cardy and Eddie Loodmer-Elliott) produces tight and convincing performances which bring mystery and suspense and keeps the audience guessing about what lies around the next corner.

Halloween might be months away but this show ushers in enough chilly frights to keep folk entertained and looking over their shoulders until then.

Ghost Stories generates goose pimples that linger and ripple across the mind long after the curtain has fallen across the stage.    

Verdict: ★★★★★

Ghost Stories is now playing at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until Saturday 24h May