He managed to get a room in a hotel, with a seaward view, looking to a shingle beach. But what was meant to be an escape, turned into a terrible terror of a tragedy that would haunt him for some time to come.
A valuable object on the seashore was found – but on the walk home, he was caught up by a menacing stranger. The sound that was made by the simple whistle found, soft as it was, could nonetheless be heard for miles around.
There were some really evocative lines in this production, and the simple staging was at times effective. But the pace of the monologue gave little time to take the details in, so we were left struggling to keep up with the plot. The historical language of the script helped with the mood, but not always with the meaning.
The Ghost Story ‘by candlelight’ consisted of two portable battery operated ‘candles’ carried on stage, with a few others put on the floor. A particularly amusing part was the ghost approaching up the steps of the stairs – some wooden statuettes being banged on the desk didn’t really enhance the atmosphere: the ‘soft footsteps treading on bare boards’.
There were some thoughtful and carefully crafted lines in here: the ‘persistent panorama’ of the ‘glare of night, startling all the creatures of the night’ – sometimes a really good sense of suspense was engendered. But we learned little about the star of the show’s history or context, which made the play harder to relate to.
A member of the audience commented afterwards that the production reminded her of ‘The Woman in Black’ – but sadly this didn’t sustain the same level. As one of the concluding lines in the performance said, ‘maybe just the wind, after all.’
The show finished at 10.40pm.
Ghost Stories by Candlelight, Tuesday 19th August 2025, Venue 45 @ theSpace
Continues daily until Friday 22nd August | 10.00pm – 10.50pm
£14.00 | £10.00 (concessions)