“A thrilling experience to be had! Not for the easily scared.”
From the writers of the League of Gentlemen and Derren Brown’s show “Dead set” Jeremy Dyson and Andy Lyman’s “Ghost Stories” has landed in Edinburgh this week at the Festival Theatre. “Ghost Stories” certainly does set the atmosphere well and expectations for a thrilling night full of intrigue and fear are definitely achieved. The lighting and sound add a great level of suspense and tension superbly crafted by lighting and sound designers James Farncombe and Nick Manning. As we wait to enter the auditorium there is tension built with unpleasant banging and rumblings leaking out as theatre goers order pre theatre drinks. Upon entering all sense are heightened as the sounds are louder and the lights at random points flicker on and off. With the safety curtain down and a lectern set up in front of it there is certainly a feeling of all not being as it seems. Throughout this high tech show the lighting and sound are key to each story’s tension and suspense being effectively impactful and frightening as without them the jump scares would, I fear, land flat.
From the start it is clear the intention is to be a highly immersive experience with audience interaction and responses important to the plot moving forward at the beginning. We begin with a lecture in real time about the paranormal and the study of parapsychology lead by the main character Professor Goodman executed brilliantly by Dan Tetsel. Tetsel gives much needed comic relief after intense moments with little nuances adopted into his role. He successfully puts the audience at ease bringing a good balance of light and shade throughout the performance. During the opening scene Professor Goodman talks of the relationships we all have with the paranormal. With a quick poll taken using hand raises it is revealed that a large percentage of us are believing in paranormal existence or simply wanting to believe. No spoilers will be revealed in this review for the sake of secrecy for the shows continued success however I can say it was more enjoyable to learn something about our understanding of paranormal activity as a premise compared to the story unfolding later.
A cast of 5 strong actors certainly made the stage feel as though there was a larger presence there continuously as each part came into realisation with an intense and heightened sense of fear. Some moments are truly terrifying and the actors narratives are beautifully delivered by all the cast who use their voices well to set the scene and fully absorb the audience. The senses truly are immersed as with every ‘ghost story’ told the auditorium gets considerably colder. A clever way to really get the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end. Director Sean Holmes has cleverly crafted all scenes using shadow effectively along with well chosen props and staging designed by Jon Bausor which all enhance the unsettling moments and help to build the tension well. It is certainly the sound design by far that keeps the suspense prolonged and further praise needs to be awarded to how slick and effective this has been excellently put together by Nick Manning.
Overall this exciting horror performance is definitely worth a look with its palpable tension and scary moments which are highly thrilling to watch. Check it out this week before it closes this Saturday 29th March.