The first thing we need to talk about is the fact that I am without a shred of doubt the biggest wuss in Manchester. So as long as we are on the same page you can understand just how jumpy I am.
The main character, Professor Goodman addresses the audience in a lecture without warning, beginning the play with ‘why did you come to see this play?’. It is with that opening bang that I am immediately sweating, have my hood up and am hiding behind my hands and asking myself the same question.
The answer for me is a drunken meeting with friends, who are not scared of anything and regularly do Zombie Runs for fun. It’s not the first time they’ve dragged me to a terrifying night of thrills, including a Zombie Apocolypse in Wigan where I actually cried.
I have to say with hindsight, this play actually isn’t as scary as it felt at the time (told you I’m a wuss) and in actual fact, you could probably laugh at any of the jumps you have following some creepy goings-on. However, the anticipation built, as you wait for the next scare simply made me sh*t scared in the moment.
In fact, I jumped that much during the second ghost story I actually poured my wine all over myself. And spilling wine is scary enough.
So perhaps if you have a nervous disposition, tread carefully when booking these tickets and picking your seats.
As requested, I’ll do my best to Keep The Secrets of Ghost Stories so you can experience it for yourself in all its goosebump-inducing glory.
Ghost Stories follows three different tales of paranormal activity which all begin with Professor Goodman quietly building suspense leaving you on the edge of your seat wondering how the tales will unfold.
You feel relaxed by Professor Goodman, played by Joshua Higgott, you almost feel welcomed, you’re laughing and you feel yourself building a rapport with the professor as if you were in a real lecture.
As the stories unfold, and Professor Goodman’s character develops, that relationship slowly deteriorates as you become wary of who he is.
The stories include a widowed husband, an un-licensed young driver and a businessman who reminded me A LOT of Bob Mortimor’s ‘Train Guy’ character, which as we all know is hilarious so expect laughs for that one.
The real star of the show is the sound design and timing, both crucial in the impact of the stories, from being able to hear a pin drop to wishing you couldn’t hear at all.
The play really is brilliant, it’s decade long run is enough to tell you that you should probably give it a go. The only issue I have is the very large absence of female actors.
The second issue I have is probably the biggest issue with the play, ghosts aren’t real… right?
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Ghost Stories has now moved to York until 14th March and then Sheffield from Tuesday 21st to 25th April.
