''Ghost Stories'' is a one-act horror

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

written by

Jeremy Dyson Jeremy Dyson (born 14 June 1966) is a British author, musician and screenwriter who, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is one of the League of Gentlemen. He also created and co-wrote the West End show ''Ghost Stories ...

and

Andy Nyman Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer and magician. Early life and career Nyman was born on 13 April 1966 in Leicester, Leicestershire. His first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in '' Dead ...

Production

The play was conceived after Nyman walked past the theatre which had hosted ''

The Woman in Black ''The Woman in Black'' is a 1983 gothic horror novel by English writer Susan Hill. The plot concerns a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town. A television film based on the story, also called '' The Woman in Black'', was produced ...

'' for over 30 years, and he realised there hadn't been a horror play produced since that time. He contacted his childhood friend

with the idea of a new horror play like ''

The Vagina Monologues ''The Vagina Monologues'' is an episodic play written in 1996 by Eve Ensler which developed and premiered at HERE Arts Center, Off-Off-Broadway in New York and was followed by an Off-Broadway run in at Westside Theatre. The play explores cons ...

'', with three narrators on stage telling ghost stories. The two were commissioned by Sean Holmes, the newly appointed artistic director the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

theatre in London, to write the play. It premiered at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actress ...

in February 2010 before being transferred for a longer run at the

Lyric Hammersmith The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London.

in London. It then transferred to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in the West End where it played from June 2010 to July 2011. The show re-opened at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamberl ...

in February 2014 and ran until March 2015. In 2015, the show was produced at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

before going on an Australian National Tour concluding at the

State Theatre Centre of Western Australia The State Theatre Centre of Western Australia is a theatre complex located within the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. The larger of three dedicated performance areas is known as the Heath Ledger Theatre in honour of Perth-born ...

in October 2016. The play was also performed in Canada (2011), Russia (2012), Peru (2015), China (2018), Finland (2018) and The Netherlands (2019). In April 2019, the original creative team came together again to stage the production for an extended run at the Lyric Hammersmith, marking the end of co-director Holmes' tenure at the theatre. The production transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre form 4 October to 4 January 2020 before embarking on a UK tour from January 2020 at

The Alexandra, Birmingham The Alexandra, commonly known as the Alex, is a theatre on Suffolk Queensway in Birmingham, England. History Construction of the theatre commenced in 1900 and was completed in 1901. The architects were Owen & Ward and the theatre was opened on 2 ...

. On 27 March 2020 it was announced the remainder of the tour had been cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2019, the playtext was published by

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sar ...

. The play is notable for running only 80 minutes (with no interval) and for its publicized warnings advising against anyone under the age of 15 attending. The marketing of the show outside the theatre is unusual in that there are no production photographs, just stills and video monitors showing the shocked reactions of audience members. An announcement at the end of the play asks the audience to "keep the secrets of Ghost Stories" so that new audiences do not have the experience spoiled with any prior information about the play.

Plot

Reviews of the show have confined themselves to outlining the basic structure of the plot, which revolves around Dr. Goodman, a Professor of Parapsychology (

) delivering a lecture on ghost stories. In the lecture, he discusses a website featuring ghostly pictures
scienceofghosts.com
He has recorded interviews with three people who claim to have had a supernatural experience. Each story seems to hinge on guilty feelings. As each interview is played back, the story is re-enacted on stage. The stories are recounted by a night watchman, a teen driver and a businessman awaiting his first child. These stories are then drawn together at the end, with a twist, as it becomes clear that the Professor is a participant in the stories and not simply a narrator.

Critical reception

Reviewing the 2010 production, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called the stories "as substantial and troubling as the fake ectoplasm manifested by a dodgy medium" while, in the same newspaper, a real-life psychic ghost hunter was quoted as saying the play "was refreshing, and made me jump, several times." After revisiting the play in 2019, the newspaper concluded it had become more elegant over the years, but remained "more playful than petrifying." '' Time Out'' called the play a "harrowing, 80-minute nightmare thrill."

Notable productions

West End and UK productions

The casts and creative teams for the original runs en UK revivals of the play were:

Original Australian production

The cast and creative team for the original Australian tour of the play were:

Film adaptation

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

premiered in 2017, starring Nyman in a reprisal of his role as Professor Philip Goodman,

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows '' Harry & Paul'' and ''Harry ...

as the night watchman,

Alex Lawther Alexander Jonathan Lawther (born 4 May 1995) is an English actor. He made his professional acting debut originating the role of John Blakemore in Sir David Hare's ''South Downs'' in the West End. He made his feature film debut playing a young ...

as the student, and

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...

as the businessman.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Trailer, 17 March 2010
British plays Horror plays Ghosts in written fiction 2010 plays