In the programme for Ghost Stories we are given a glimpse of what to expect: spooks, haunted theatres, magic tricks and Houdini’s debunking of spirit sightings.
In this vein, at the start of the performance a casually-dressed academic approaches a lectern on stage and begins a lecture about the paranormal. He is very informative, if somewhat supercilious, when he tells us all about ghost photographs and percipients who have had ghost experiences.
We are drawn in to the world of rational scepticism with Professor Goodman, affably played by Jonathan Guy Lewis, as he takes us through his investigations of ghost hunting cases.
These are illustrated by people who are in ordinary situations and have no notion that the supernatural is going to enter their lives. Ghastly groans and screeches contribute to the atmosphere of dread as stage smoke rolls out, pierced by eerie lights.
We see the night watchman, the student, the City trader, all with a story starting with the slow and ordinary and building up to a climax. Â The individual stories are all expertly done, and explained by the urbane Professor Goodman, but all is not what it seems.
Reviewers are urged by the playwrights not to divulge plot points for fear of spoiling the fun for others, but it is worth saying that I really didn’t know what was coming, though I had an idea it wasn’t going to be nice.
The set is the stand-out star of this show. The set design spirits us to a warehouse filled with dummies, a car on a lonely road, a haunted nursery, a storm drain and what looks like a giant, solid prison into which characters disappear. Perennially effective stage magic executes the spectacles, which are no less effective for having their roots in stagecraft which would not have been unfamiliar to Victorian theatre-goers.
If you fancy a scary night out for Hallowe’en or Bonfire Night you couldn’t do better than a ticket to Ghost Stories. This is an accomplished, polished piece, a well thought-out script acted with skill by a cast of five men. It is an ideal festive trip – but not for the faint-hearted. Be prepared for a bumpy night.
Venue: Peacock Theatre
Playwrights: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman
Cast: Jonathan Guy Lewis, David Vardy, Preston Nyman, Clive Mantle, Lloyd McDonagh
Duration: 85 minutes no interval
Until: 8 November 2025