Preview - Spooky Season at the People's Theatre

This October, the People’s Theatre in Heaton are bringing two gripping tales of mystery, disappearance and the supernatural.

From the eerie beauty of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK to the chilling suspense of 2:22 – A GHOST STORY, spooky season has never looked so good!

On a summer’s day in 1900, a school picnic at Hanging Rock, the volcanic beauty spot in rural Australia, takes a terrifying turn when three girls and a teacher disappear without trace.

Tom Wright’s haunting stage adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s celebrated novel brings this enduring mystery to life in a compelling theatrical exploration of memory, myth and the unknowable.

Five performers conjure the world of Appleyard College and the events surrounding that fateful picnic, shifting between characters, recollections and competing versions of what might have happened. As the boundaries between fact and imagination begin to blur, the search for answers becomes increasingly unsettling.

Beautiful, strange and deeply atmospheric, PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK is a story about the things we cannot explain, and the stories we create to make sense of them.

Then later in October, the People’s are bringing award-winning stage phenomenon 2:22 – A GHOST STORY to their stage!

New parents Jenny and Sam are settling into their new home. But every night at exactly 2:22am, Jenny hears footsteps on the baby monitor circling their daughter’s cot. Is the house haunted?

When friends arrive for a housewarming, a late-night debate about ghosts, belief and scepticism takes a sinister turn. They decide to stay awake until 2:22am, then they’ll know …

This gripping supernatural thriller is written by former People’s Theatre member Danny Robins, and directed by Anna Dobson.

Anna and Danny have been friends since they were in Youth Theatre together, and Anna comments: “Danny was always incredibly creative and loved making theatre, so it came as no surprise to me that he went on to build such a successful career. I’m immensely proud of everything he has achieved, and it feels very special to stage his play in the place where his own love of theatre began.”

Tickets are available from the People’s Theatre Box Office on 0191 265 5020 (option 2) and online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk

Royalty Theatre - The Ghost Train - Review

The Ghost Train
Royalty Theatre
20.09.2016

The Royalty Theatre's new season kicks off this week with a production of Arnold Ridley's The Ghost Train. Though it was originally performed back in 1925 it is a play that has withstood the test of time. Set in the 1920s "somewhere in Cornwall". It is a tale of ghosts and espionage - a true Boys Own adventure. A group of travellers are forced to spend the night in a remote station on a wild winter's evening. A hapless passenger on their train loses his hat and pulls the emergency cord, causing them to miss their connection to Truro. But many things are not quite what they seem - from the hapless passenger to the haunted station with its lugubrious station master and strange foreign locals. What is the truth behind the ghostly night time express and the young lady with psychic vision? Is the hapless passenger really as hapless as he seems? There is more to this spooky tale than meets the eye and eventually all will be revealed - but to find out the truth you must see it yourself: there are no spoilers here.

The team have made a fair start to the season - a simple set, a good play, and a decent production. Good performances by Mik Richardson, Andrew Barella and James Errington, though Lorna Breeze almost steals the show with her portrayal of Miss Bourne - I enjoyed her tipsy flirting with Charles! Great sound and lighting effects for the train and the ghostly manifestations. It is a little rough around the edges - one or two performers trying just a little too hard and there are some shocking accents which I will forgive, if only because this is a comedy thriller and has quite an element of farce running through it (intentional, I hope). It's an entertaining production with enough sudden bangs to keep the audience on edge and a fair start to wnat looks like a promising season.

Stationmaster - Matt McNamee

Richard Winthrop - Andy Barella

Elsie Winthrop - Nikki Briggs

Charles Murdock - James Errington

Peggy Murdock - Zoe Tempest

Miss Bourne - Lorna Breeze

Teddie Deakin - Mik Richardson

Julia Price - Chloe Mendez

Herbert Price - David Armstrong

John Sterling - Rob Lawson

Policeman - Kevin Smith

Director - Billy Towers

The Ghost Train plays until Sat 24th September. Tickets cost £8/£6.50 and are available online in advance or on the door from 6.45pm . Curtain up is at 7.30pm

Denise Sparrowhawk