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Helen Maybanks
'Ghost Stories' begins not with a fright, but with a lecture. 'Why are you here?' co-creator Andy Nyman asks of us, in his guise as urbane paranormal expert Professor Philip Goodman.
It's a fair question. We come to 'Ghost Stories' knowing little about it, bar an assurance that it will be scary, backed up by the credentials of Nyman (collaborator on all Derren Brown's stunt psychology extravaganzas) and co-writer/director Jeremy Dyson (the non acting member of comedy grotesques The League of Gentlemen).
In fact, Goodman offers an answer: 'You're here to play a game with [your] fear.' True enough. There is more humour than horror; the game with 'Ghost Stories' is to see the latter coming. The titular tales are re-enactments of three case studies Goodman presents in his 'lecture'. Each focuses on a lone everyman, always isolated, clinging to a tiny pool of light, the rest of the stage an inky, oppressive unknown. We know something is going to happen, and usually it's a blackly affable gag. But anticipation of a punchline is very similar to anticipation of a fright: if the aim of 'Ghost Stories' is to shock a worldly audience with stage trickery, then it succeeds by disarming us with humour, so that the eventual glimpses of the something in the darkness ram home on a gut level.
This is aided by a superb technical team, foremost Jon Bausnor, whose set is wonderfully suggestive of spaces immeasurably vaster than the Lyric. The magic ingredient, though, is goodwill. Put in the role of Goodman's students, we become conspirators, and resisting or impatiently waiting for a scare would blunt the experience. 'Ghost Stories' is an immaculately crafted evening of entertainment, not a highbrow work for the ages. Play the game and you'll have a scream.
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We have just returned a few hours ago from seeing ghost stories and I feel like I can't sleep until I have written a review. Now I know why they tell you at the end to keep it a secret! This show is by miles the worst show I have ever seen! Not scary one bit either! My husband was so bored he fell asleep after 15 minutes and I woke him up at the end. What a waste of money £140 for 4 tickets I have been robbed! I intend to write a very strong letter of complaint demanding a full refund!
A total sham! WARNING: do not get tricked into spending any money on this hoax. There are so many truly great shows to see in the west End. This is certainly NOT one of them. A load of total rubbish. Childrens entertainment at the most. No story, no connection whatsoever with the characters, very bad acting, totally over priced. Do yourself a favour and choose to go somewhere else.
What a load of rubbish! A real rip off! When I think I could have spent my £40.00 per ticket for the chance to see possibly any other show in the West End and be at least satisfied if not thrilled!
Very entertaining and cheaper than a night at the cinema. Not scary but has scary moments..thought provoking ending as it all starts again.....
Ignore the naysayers and miserablists who clearly failed to get into the spirit of this show. It is not the most complex or intellectually challenging theatre you'll ever see in terms of story-telling and content, but I don't imagine that's what its creators had in mind. It is, however, darn clever, with some great scream-out-loud moments and some spooky/chilling imagery that will stay with you and ensure that you don't sleep altogether soundly for a night or two. The acting's great, as are the sets, and there are some brilliant twists that make you revise your take on the play and give you food for thought. But essentially it's a good old romp and well worth a ticket price that's half what you'd pay for a good seat in the West End...
I saw this last night and really enjoyed it. I don't think it can be described as terrifying but parts of it do make you jump. Other people in the audience were screeching out at parts but I didn't think it was that scary. It has been super hyped-up as the scariest thing ever and obviously some of the audience bought into that and wanted to be scared witless.
What I would say is that it is very well written and constructed, the sets are good and the acting is superb. Towards the end you can really tell it has the hand of a League of Gentlemen gentleman on it.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
If anyone's interested in tickets for this then please contact me. They have a non-refund policy so me and my bf were unable to get our money back for this when we could no longer make it. Our showing is on Friday 16th April 2010 in the Circle. Let me know if you're interested.
Thanks,
Elsa (elsafrenzel@gmx.de)
This was the biggest load of rubbish I've ever had the misfortune to see. The only scary thing is how we were all suckers for the hype. Don't waste your money. For a truly scary story go see The Woman in Black.
have never felt so vulnerable or disturbed by a SHOW.....the ending alone is really,really, really, REALLY extreme....
After reading all the reviews here, I was pretty disappointed with all the hype. Wasn't scary, nail-biting or anything like that at all. Terrifying??? Hardly. Unless you're the type of person who generally doesn't like sleeping in the dark, checks under the bed before you sleep to begin with.
Absolutely awesome. Incredibly clever final twist and the suspense scenes are completely chilling. I still find myself looking over my shoulder for the Goat-man.
A thoroughly entertaining evening. I was embarrassed to find at one point that I had instinctively screamed out loud and covered my eyes. Really well written, lots of fun, I highly recommend it.
Wonderful show - that will most likley creep you out long after its finished.
This is a good fun cleverly staged show but don't believe all the hype about how scary it is...a few moments that make you jump but I wouldn't call it scary...only in the same way that a rollercoaster is scary...it's more funny because you laugh at how it makes you jump. Good fun and I would def recommend it!
don't go and see this...it's really horrid and left me crying and shaking like a MASSIVE girl...imagine you can't remember your nightmares all you have is terror and tears in the middle of the night...merrily hop along to the theatre for some "entertainment" and there in front of you is the nightmare you could never remember happening...I want to warn people not to go...
Amazing... was truly terrified and entertained. The acting, stage set and effects are brilliant. Go while you can!!!
A MUST SEE!!!
The show was brilliant and thoroughly enjoyed.
I went with a group of 8 and i defiantly recommend to see with a group of friends.
The show was entertaining and kept you on the edge of your seats with elements of comedy that eased nerves.
The audience was feeled with a mix of age groups but its a must see for students who enjoy entertainment for only a tenner
10 thumbs up for entertain factor :D
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