Manchester Theatre News & Reviews

REVIEW - Ghost Stories is a thrilling, chilling, top billing show, with theatrics to die for!

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On Tuesday, we were invited to Lowry to see Ghost Stories. Read what our reviewer Karen Ryder had to say about this scare fest of a production...

The psychology around thrillers and the supernatural is fascinating, particularly in the theatre. Articulated well and you can manipulate the minds of the audience long before the show has even made its way to the venue, ensuring the audience is already in a heightened state of fear! Ghost Stories is peppered with warnings, reviews, and marketing, all forewarning us of the heightened tensions, the terrifying theatrics, and the posing the question, “Are you brave enough to book?” With videos of visibly frightened audience members illuminating the fear factor, the gauntlet is laid down, the scene already set. This is a night that will chill you to the bone, and the question we have to ask ourselves is, are we willing to play hide and seek with our own limitations and face the unknown? Everything that comes before the show, the build-up and anticipation, forms part of its magic. It is rare for a show to conjure up such adrenalin, such a fight or flight response to the unknown, but this is exactly what Ghost Stories does, meaning we are already in the cold grips of their chilling hands way before the show even begins. Basically, you don’t stand a chance!

Even though I have seen this show before and remember being so freaked out in advance that I was convinced every other person I saw was a plant just ready to jump out and scare the bejesus out of me, I am not ashamed to admit the forementioned psychology is still working like a charm on me. Because I remember the fear all too well. I remember jumping, screaming, and desperately trying to hide behind my hands, whatever help I thought that would bring I have no idea! And I have to say, even for someone who tries to avoid being scared as a rule, there is an addictive thrill to attending such a show. With a feeling of comradery as complete strangers enter the theatre together, each asking the other how bad they think things will be, I give nothing away. And as requested by the show itself, I will not be giving anything away in this review either, because therein lies its magic. Who am I to take the racing heart, the cold shivers and the sweaty hands away from anyone? You can suffer…..I mean enjoy……..just like I did!

Ghost Stories follows the investigations of Professor Goodman, a supernatural sceptic who sets out to disprove the tales of three different hauntings. Through the Professor we encounter a night watchman, a teenager on his way home, and a robust businessman who is awaiting his first child. Each has their own tale to tell, and as they do, we are whisked back in time to relive these happenings and witness first hand exactly what happened. As each tale leaves traces of unanswered questions, fear takes its opportunity, splintering shards of sheer terror throughout the theatre, leaving us easy prey for the paranormal. Expect drama, tension, twists, turns, screams, and mind-bending impossibilities, ensuring you will never view theatre the same again.

Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman have forged a new kind of theatrical experience with Ghost Stories for added to its brilliantly clever script, is an experience like no other. Inspired by the success of The Woman In Black, Nyman discovered that there hadn’t been a captivating and intense thriller on stage since. Coupled with Dyson, an unexpected, dark, and humorous play was born which has left audiences hooked, haunted and horrified ever since. Brilliantly written, this play runs for an intense 1 hour 40 minutes, with no interval, ensuring the tension cannot be broken, and leaving you encapsulated, entirely unsure of how long has passed. There is of course a successful film version of Ghost Stories, and I wondered if any of its impact would be lost on me having seen the show and film before. The answer is a short resounding no, it did not. If anything, it was heightened as I remembered the feeling of fear rather than exactly what caused it. But knowing the story, what I did find was an expertly woven trail of clues that made me slap my head with their sheer genius! The evidence is often hidden in plain sight and those make for the best kind of thrillers.

Dan Tetsell (Rivals, The Wipers Times, Trial By Laughter) leads us into the unknown as Professor Goodman. With a dry, dark and cynical approach, he starts by bamboozling us with a lengthy lecture, perhaps serving to relax our minds into an open trance like state, making us prime victims for what is to come. The information on offer is fascinating and could form a play of its own accord. With his authoritarian approach, he perfectly patronises any believers, showing off his believed superior knowledge with a smug and satisfied smile. In short, he creates an incredibly real character who promotes his beliefs above anyone else’s. So naturalistically real was this performance, I even started questioning if this was a genuine Professor or an actor. Dan Tetsells Professor Goodman is seismically entertaining as he skilfully leads us into the unexpected.

David Cardy (One Man 2 Guvnors, The Importance Of Being Ernest, Birds Of A Feather) is the first to tell us his ghostly tale as night watchman Tony. This performance is excellent, again a truly believable night watchman, who tells a thousand stories and expresses endless thoughts without the need to say a word. It is so well executed that this could be someone we all know, and he perfectly plays with the nuances of his tale to maximum effect. Eddie Loodmer-Elliott (Fiji, The Inheritance, Julius Caesar) gives us permission to relax ever so slightly as awkward teenager Simon, even managing to make us laugh a little as we recognise some of his frustrations. He has created a wonderful character, complete with clumsy awkward laughter that erupts in the wrong place. But there is a price to pay for relaxing in a show such as Ghost Stories. Don’t say you weren’t warned! Clive Mantle (A Streetcar Named Desire, Of Mice & Men, Casualty & Holby) delivers his own kind of pompous as the rich and oblivious businessman Mike, utterly absorbed in his own world with little regard for anything other than closing the deal. He takes us on an emotional journey as he opens up to the Professor, making this brash and bold businessman have heart and depth. This is a superb cast and I wish I could write more about how brilliant they were but I am not risking giving anything away. Instead, I will just say wow!

With sets designed by Jon Bausor that swiftly glide on and off and take us between various locations, there is an impressive ease involved, ensuring the spell of fear is not broken. Its success lies within its seeming simplicity, but in a ghost story, perhaps nothing is quite as it seems, allowing special effects by Scott Penrose to catch you unawares. Again, I am unwilling to give anything away, but it is fair to assume in a play named Ghost Stories that you can expect playful shadows, clever lighting, and the lack thereof, plunging the theatre into moments of pitch blackness. James Farncombe goes beyond the obvious and beautifully messes with our senses, as does sound designer Nick Manning, who knows exactly how and when to make you jump.

For reference, I am someone who usually avoids scary things for I scare way too easy. Therefore, I personally bought into this whole experience hook, line, and sinker and came away feeling suitably scared, but not traumatised enough that I need to sleep with the light on. I wonder if hardened thrill seekers would like their limits to have been pushed even further, but I for one am glad they weren’t. To me it hit just the right balance of managing expectations for both sides of the coin, and whilst of course it could have taken things a whole lot further, we have to remember that this is a theatre show, with real live people watching, whom the show has a responsibility towards. Ghost Stories created a genuine buzz and an electric atmosphere in the audience tonight prior to the show, and afterwards the number of dilated pupils and adrenalin fuelled conversations happening at breakneck speed provided evidence that its impact had hit home. The show starts by asking its audience the question, “What are you doing here?” And that’s the question you have to find the answer to, because if you make one wrong move……..you may just become the ghost in your own story. This is a thrilling night at the theatre, and even though I have now seen the show twice, I would definitely go again………..once I have found the courage to stop hiding under my duvet! Ghost Stories is an addictive thrilling, chilling, top billing show, with theatrics to die for! So head to Lowry now. They’re just dying to welcome you in.

WE SCORE GHOST STORIES...