Ghost Stories, the portmanteau horror play by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, remains a sublimely clever vehicle for conveying fear through theatre. There is a framing story and, within that, three interconnected stories. Surpassed only by The Woman in Black and leaving in its wake pale imitators like Torben Betts’ Murder in the Dark, Ghost Stories is in effect a stage version of one of the old Amicus films, the likes of Torture Garden (1967) and Asylum (1972). Only Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright comes close, unsurprisingly given that that play’s authors – Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton – and Dyson have history, being better-known – with Mark Gatiss – as The League of Gentleman.
Ghost Stories is now 15 years old, during which time the production has toured the world and, in a programme note, Jeremy Dyson reflects how with each production has come a “slow and incremental addition of improvements and refinements”. Thus, there is something new in this production, although that “improvement” is offset by some backsliding in the technical department that needs to be addressed to avoid undermining the play’s reputation. From the start, the mispositioning of the only item of furniture on stage means that when the first story starts, a key part of the set cannot be seen by anyone unlucky enough to be sitting in the left-hand section of the audience. Other problems, too, seem simple to remedy. In the second story, much of the pre-recorded dialogue is muffled and the climactic jump-scare goes unseen – even by those sitting in the centre of the audience – unless they know where to look; either the design of the lighting effect or its operation (or both) are at fault. Again, and in the same story, inattention to sightlines means the face of the central character is largely hidden when he is seated facing the audience. Less easy to solve is the problem with the third story; the casting and weak acting, which means that what follows works far less well than it should (and has done before).
While it wouldn’t have been noticed by many in 2010, the fact that Ghost Stories has an entirely white male cast feels dated, jarringly so when one considers that IRL two of the roles featured are hardly ever filled by middle-aged white men. A table-top trick that features in the play really doesn’t stand up for a second in 2025, and body doubling only really works if the bodies concerned are at least vaguely similar. Finally, the anti-semitism in one scene – jarring and terrible in the original – now comes across as almost revivalist and it might be better cut.
On the strength of the writing, Ghost Stories should go on forever, but on the strength of this latest revival, the staging is starting to show its age. Attention then can turn to Dyson and Nyman’s highly anticipated new play – The Psychic – which opens next year with a world premiere in York’s magnificent Theatre Royal.
Review by Louis Mazzini
When Professor Goodman, arch-sceptic out to debunk the paranormal, embarks on an investigation of three apparent hauntings – as recounted by a night-watchman, a teenage boy, and a businessman awaiting his first child – Goodman finds himself at the outer limits of rationality, and fast running out of explanations.
After exhilarating audiences for three years in the West End and across the world with record-breaking, sell-out productions and a smash hit film, Ghost Stories is back in London for a strictly limited, 6-week Halloween season run.
Are you brave enough to book?
CAST
Professor Goodman – Jonathan Guy Lewis
Tony Matthews – David Cardy
Simon Rifkind – Preston Nyman
Mike Priddle – Clive Mantle
The Others – Lloyd McDonagh
Understudy – Simon Bass
Understudy – Harry Rundle
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer/Director – Jeremy Dyson
Writer/Director – Andy Nyman
Director – Sean Holmes
Set and Costume Designer – Jon Bausor
Lighting Designer – James Farncombe
Sound Designer – Nick Manning
Special Effects – Scott Penrose
Casting Director – Ginny Schiller CDG
Associate Director – Andy Room
Costume Supervisor – Ellen Gifford
GHOST STORIES
Peacock Theatre, Portugal Street, London WC2A 2HT
30 September to 8 November 2025
BOOK TICKETS FOR GHOST STORIES
