Ghost Stories (Play) Review

[Sundae]

This is less a review of a play, and more about my trip to see it. See below for reasons.
Details of the show, who is in it, what the history is, who the Lighting Director is etc can be found here.

On Thursday I went to London to see Ghost Stories.
Planned and budgeted for BEFORE the benefit cancellation obviously.
And I was damned if I was going to cancel it when what I really needed was a good opportunity to scream. And I did. Four times. Well, five if you count the fact I screamed twice at one shock - two little screams as I drew breath. That really impressed me.

Even though it is unlikely that 99.99 (recurring) people here will ever see Ghost Stories, I will respect their request not to post spoilers or indeed any details online. After all there is a small chance someone searching the t'internet might find us. One day. Buried as we are. Buried alive.
So this reveals nothing of the stories, settings or characters apart from my reaction to them.


So here are some non-spoilery things. That you can't research yourself.
When you enter the theatre the walls are all wrapped in warning tape, flickering lights in cages buzz and hum - wires taped to the walls - there is a sound of dripping and the moaning of wind, random numbers chalked everywhere. It all creates a general feeling of unease, especially for me, sensitive (skittish) as I am.

I sat next to a lovely woman previously from Melbourne, now living in Devon. A long trip either way.
I told her I had friends in Brisbane, Victoria and Adelaide, but oddly enough she didn't think she knew them.
I admitted to being a screamer, and luckily she was spooked too, so I didn't need to feel ashamed.
Only exchanged a few words with the American woman on the other side of me. Then again, perhaps she was Canadian and therefore keeping a low profile.

The show opens with Andy Nyman (hero of mine) as the narrator. He's not the sveltest of figures anyway - more like my ideal body type - but the boxy brown corduroy suit he was wearing made him look super short and wide.

In character he talked us through the format: three stories which had made even him - a sceptical parapsychologist - wonder if perhaps there was more to this world than meets the eye. He was funny and personable. The lines were well scripted and I could definitely hear Dyson's influence.

The first story probably had the spookiest setting. I was constantly on edge waiting for something to happen, my hands over my mouth and my throat. This was the story that gave me the double scream.

The second story featured a man who really reminded me of Reece Shearsmith - I wonder if Jeremy had him in mind when he wrote it. The character is much younger than Reece though (think Matthew in The League of Gentleman Christmas Special and you'll see why it wouldn't work!) I'll have to find out exactly where he's from, my guess at the North-East might be well off.

The third stars Nicholas Burns - a surprise to me as I've deliberately steered clear of reviews, wanting to come to the show in as much ignorance as possible. I've mentioned Burns in other posts regardly the award winning series Benidorm (sitcom), supernatural drama Misfits and the heartbreakingly brief superhero sitcom No Heroics. Oh and Nathan Barley, Dana sez.
Burns' story feeds into the end of the show.

Was I scared at the time?
Hell, yes!
It could only have pressed my panic buttons more by featuring mirrors. Tricky on stage.
One or two of my other flashpoints were definitely there.
It was well acted, well paced, well scripted and I was well satisfied, innit.
Funny, spooky, involving misdirection and intelligent twists, occasionally predictable but more often surprising. And great at ramping up the atmosphere until you think you've seen more than you have. And keeping you in such suspense that you'll jump at anything... and then they produce something worth jumping at.

No, it's not as scary as the hype makes out.
The scariest things are that the show runs for a solid 80 minutes, no interval and there are only four cubicles in the Ladies toilets for two floors of the theatre. Oh and the bar prices (I nipped out to the shop next door as I arrived early). Even over-priced London convenience stores don't charge £4.50 for a bottle of beer. Still, that's the West End.

But it's certainly the scariest thing I've seen in a long while, and while I wasn't scared to go home and sleep, it did get the adreneline pumping enough that I'd have been glad of a companion. And he'd have had a really good night

Interview from when the play opened in Liverpool.
I could listen to Jeremy talk all day - if he brought out an audio book of the Bible I'd probably buy it... But it's a pretty good interview even for non-fans.

Later interview when it transferred to the Lyric, Hammersmith (think off-West End) It pretty much goes over the same ground, but more briefly.