Preview: It Walks Around the House at Night at Arc, Stockton On Tees

ThickSkin presents

It Walks Around the House at Night

Arc, Stockton On Tees

Wednesday 18 – Thursday 19 February 2026

Award-winning Wigan-based theatre company ThickSkin brings Tim Foley's atmospheric ghost story It Walks Around The House At Night to The Arc in Stockton-on-Tees this February, promising audiences an evening of theatrical horror laced with dark humour and genuine scares.

The production marks another collaboration between ThickSkin and Manchester playwright Tim Foley, whose previous work with the company on Driftwood proved a considerable success. Foley, a Bruntwood Prize winner whose credits include Electric Rosary at the Royal Exchange Theatre and work on Doctor Who audio productions for Big Finish, has crafted a tale that centres on Joe, an out-of-work actor in desperate financial straits. When a rich, handsome stranger makes an unusual offer during Joe's bar shift, it seems like the answer to his problems: a well-paid gig playing a ghost at an old countryside manor. What begins as an expectation of delivering cheap thrills to paying guests soon transforms into something far more sinister as Joe discovers genuine terrors haunting the grounds after dark.

George Naylor takes on the role of Joe, bringing experience from productions including Second Best at Riverside Studios, the West End and touring production of The Mousetrap, and Room 13 at The Barn Theatre. He is joined by Oliver Baines as The Dancer, whose recent work includes The House Party for Chichester Festival Theatre and Headlong, Frantic Assembly's touring production of Othello, and I Like The Way You Move at Theatre Peckham.

The production is directed by ThickSkin's Artistic Director Neil Bettles, whose work spans How Not To Drown, Disney's Bedknobs & Broomsticks on its UK and Ireland tour, and productions with Frantic Assembly. Bettles describes the piece as a thrilling and complex exploration of power and manipulation designed to unsettle even the most hardened audience members. The technical team features impressive theatrical pedigree, with sound design by Tony Award winner Pete Malkin, whose portfolio includes Othello at the National Theatre and Complicité's acclaimed The Encounter, and lighting design by Olivier Award winner Joshua Pharo, known for Wolf Witch Giant Fairy at the Royal Opera House and Hot Wing King at the National Theatre.

ThickSkin has established itself since 2010 as a company recognised nationally for championing exceptional talent in the North West and for creating inventive touring productions that blend new writing, movement and design. Founded by Neil Bettles and Laura Mallows, who continue to lead the organisation from their base at The Engine Room in Wigan, the company has built a reputation for work that presents extraordinary stories in unexpected ways, from traditional stage productions to virtual reality experiences and immersive audio plays.

Running 80 minutes without an interval, It Walks Around The House At Night is recommended for audiences aged 14 and above, with content warnings for loud and sudden noises, haze, flashing lights, occasional strong language, horror imagery and the promised jump scares that pepper this contemporary ghost story.

Tickets:

https://arconline.co.uk/whats-on/it-walks-around-the-house-at-night/ 

Pay What You Decide

Ages 14+ (under 16s must be accompanied by an adult)

Content warning: Loud and sudden noises, haze, flashing lights, occasional strong language, horror imagery and jump scares.