Ghost Stories

Horror, you either love it or hate. At its worst I hate it, schlock horror basted in blood and gore has never interested me, but… At its best I love it and this gripping creation from Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson is the genre at its very best, delivered in classic form and using classic theatre arts rather than modern electronic wizardry.

This was my second time of seeing and you may think that on a second visit some of the tension and excitement might be lost. In fairness some of the scary moments I was ready for, of course I was. This however did free my mind from total fear and dread and gave me space to concentrate on the writing, and very fine it is too.

This is a beautifully balanced work of theatre, matching every scary element with a gradually unfolding psychological plot that twists and turns until… well of course I’m not going to give that away and spoil it for you.

Horror can be a simply load of effects, scary of course, but when delivered in a finely wrought, yes wrought, story, it reaches a different level. What always fascinates me is that theatre audience fear nearly always manifests itself in laughter. Last night there was a lot of very nervous laughter. For horror lovers and theatre lovers alike this is a must see delivered by a fine cast and beautifully directed.

Theatre Royal Brighton

11 February

Andrew Kay

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