REVIEW: Ghost Stories at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Ghost Stories

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Until Saturday 26 April 2025

A show with plenty of jumpy moments has landed on Grey Street direct from the West End this week. 

They said "When Professor Goodman, arch-sceptic out to debunk the paranormal, embarks on an investigation of three apparent hauntings – as recounted by a night-watchman, a teenage boy, and a businessman awaiting his first child – Goodman finds himself at the outer limits of rationality, and fast running out of explanations.

Enter a world full of thrilling twists and epic turns, where the ultimate love-letter to horror is imagined live on stage. A fully sensory and electrifying encounter, Ghost Stories is one of London’s best reviewed plays of all time and will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat. This is a theatrical experience like no other."

 

Secrecy in theatre is not unusual. Many thousands see The Mousetrap every year and agree to enter a contract with the cast not to reveal the killer. This show though is closer to Derren Brown in the instruction "don't reveal the plot!. I totally get why some shows will want the audience to arrive without a clue about what they are about to face. Indeed showman P. T. Barnum would be pleased with the showmanship on offer with Ghost Stories.

So I'm not left with much to write...

The Lecturer - Dan Tetsell

Ghostly productions are not new. The tricks of the trade that date back, in some cases to Victorian times, are on show here. If you've seen, for example, Woman In Black, then you'll appreciate how fab theatre can create tension and jump scares. The three central designs work collectively well together. Lighting design (James Farncombe) needs to only allow light in certain areas, though this includes auditorium lighting too. Sound design (Nick Manning) has to be selective in what you hear and need, as Hitchcock clearly used sound in his movies, to be tension. Finally the set design (Jon Bausor) coupled with special effects (Scott Penrose) need to tell as much of the story as the cast themselves. Add in the Theatre Royal, which as an old theatre whose interior was designed in Victorian times, so that it helps set up the pretence of the show. 

The Caretaker/ Night watchman - David Cardy 

The decision to run the show for 85 minutes without an interval also keeps the sustained tension - just like a good horror movie. Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman wrote and co-directed the show with Sean Holmes have created a popular show with the right balance of jumps and laughs. 

The cast have to have great timing.  In a comedy, you'd expect great comic timing - but the same applies to live horror. The cast don't have the benefit of editing and the ability to change the audiences view like a horror movie - this results in them needing to know how and, crucially, when to both move or deliver the line. I know that is what acting is about, but the audience are likely to compared the theatre experience with what can be achieved at the cinema - even though both formats are very different. This show proves that there is something much more kinaesthetic and physical than the celluloid experience.

The student - Eddie Loodmer-Elliott

I do worry if I have been desensitized to jump-scare theatre. Thus I'm reliant on good storytelling. This tale feels like a modern version of a classic Charles Dickens ghost tale. It has the short story cycle in which the same, apparently trivial detail presented at the start of the tale will either have bigger significance or add to the final narrative later on the in tale. 

The businessman - Clive Mantle

So there you go. I have not given anything away. The cast are tight - the people off stage who handle the lights/sound/props/effects are a hard working slick machine that needs credit in making the tale come to life. I'm glad I saw it. Is it perfect horror - no, though the influence of Korean and Japanese horror movies is apparent. But it is entertaining, and that's half the battle.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Photos: Hugo Glendinning

Tickets:

Evenings: Tue, Wed, Thu and Sat 8pm, Fri 6pm & 9pm

Matinees: Sat 2.30pm

Running time: 90mins (no interval)

Recommended: 15+, contains moments of extreme shock and tension, we strongly advise those of a nervous disposition to think very seriously before attending.

Website: https://www.theatreroyal.co.uk/whats-on/ghost-stories/