Concocted from the brains of The League of Gentlemen writers, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, after Nyman walked past The Fortune Theatre, showing The Woman in Black. You can definitely see the inspiration that Ghost Stories draws from the Susan Hill penned classic, but it deviates and twists and turns in ways that could only come from the brain of writers such as the duo behind The League of Gentlemen!

The production is unusual in that its publicity material contains no stills or videos of the actual show, just audience reaction. This means I enter the theatre, (alone might I add!), with complete trepidation at what is about to happen! All I was aware of was that the show had no interval and no readmittance once the show had begun and, therefore, no escape! I also knew that it would be a collection of stories collated by our guide through the paranormal, Professor Goodman…

I feel with this kind of show, it lives and dies on the quality of its performers. Luckily, the talent on show here is clear and immediately obvious. Lucas Albion as Professor Goodman is the glue that holds this production together, bumbling onto the stage from an auditorium door and immediately into the hearts of the audience. His job is a difficult one; to hold the stories together and to entertain us in the interim. Lucas is brilliant, he holds the audience in the palm of his hand whether taking us through a slideshow or demanding the audience raise their hands if they themselves have had a ghostly experience. These sections could easily have lost the audience, but Lucas is a master at building the tension and at times the humour of the piece.

Our stories are portrayed by one actor per story. Again, these sections could easily become tedious, but the acting here is masterful. David Cardy portrays slightly crotchety, but endearing nightwatchman, Tony Matthews. Without giving too much away, there are long stretches here of quiet or silence, which David builds into tension with ease. He balances this perfectly with hilarious moments such as her berating of the poor Russian nightwatchman who keeps radioing him. I could feel the audience around me on the edge of their seats as Tony flashes a single torch beam across the stage and the final payoff resulted in screams mixed in equally with terrified laughter.

We blend seamlessly into the other stories which feature Preston Nyman as Simon Rifkand and Clive Mantle as Mike Priddle. Preston is perfectly cast as the hapless Simon who is driving home from a party in the early hours of the morning (without a licence, I might add!). His comic timing and sheer fright at the incidents that occur in his story are a sight to behold. The audience were roaring with laughter which immediately became jumping out of their seats and screams of fear. An excellent, balanced performance. Clive Mantle as Mike also blends comedy expertly with a nuanced, thoughtful moments too. His portrayal of ‘the prophet’ businessman is believable, his cockiness and confidence from the business world mixed in with his more tender moments about his wife and his fear at telling the story.

Alongside this talented cast, we have an impressive set created by Jon Bausor. The ‘intermissions’ between stories allow the sets to change with ease and they really are a sight to behold. Mixed with the constant billowing smoke which only helps to increase the tension, I was surprised at the sheer kinetic nature of the set which moves and flows around the actors and the illusions of depth and space that is created by the set design. Teamed up with constant, unnerving sound curated by sound designer, Nick Manning, excellent lighting (and lack thereof!) from James Francombe and very smart special effects from Scott Penrose, the production values of this show are incredible and, I must admit, unexpected!

All in all, this far exceeded my expectations in every sense of the word, made me jump (more than once), weaved a very clever and unexpected twist that I certainly didn’t see coming and gave me a huge sense of unease which is with me still today! I will definitely be keeping the secrets of Ghost Stories as, even if I was to try and explain what I had seen, I don’t think I would truly capture the essence of what the show achieves. Yes you’ll jump, you might scream, you might laugh hysterically but you will have a great night out and come away thinking about what you’ve seen for a long time to come!