Ghost Stories

This play promises to scare, and it sets out to do just that with skill and technical aplomb. Professor Philip Goodman (Steve Rodgers) begins the play presenting his research which introduces and debunks the ghost stories of urban legends; the moving doll, the night car trip which turns scary, the birth which kills the mother and leaves a hideous baby alive.

After an introduction by the Professor, the stories start as his interview with one of the affected people and subtly changes into an acted version which draws the audience in and sends hearts racing with wonderful staging, excellent acting and ferocious sound and lighting. The actors who deliver the stories, Jay Laga’aia, Darcy Brown and Nick Simpson-Deeks effectively carry the audience with them into their characters’ nightmares.

As it turns out, the good Professor is not immune and early on there are intimations that all is not going to go well with him, and he will have his own ghosts to deal with.

The production design by Jon Bousor is a masterclass is setting the scene and enabling the scariness to come. The lighting (James Farncombe) and music (Nick Manning) ably supported the illusions which were supervised by Adam Mada. This team had a central role in providing the audience with heartbeat acceleration.

The layering of the stories added some narrative depth, but Ghost Stories turned out to be no more and no less than a scare a minute theatre experience done with serious skill.

Ruth Richter

Photographer: Charles Alexander