Coming to the Albany Theatre, 29-30 March

England, 1953. Renowned American psychic investigator Doctor Roy Earle, famous for discrediting hauntings and exposing fake mediums, is invited to attend a seance in Blaine Manor, said to be the most haunted building in England. However, Earle’s arrival awakens something horrific within the manor’s haunted walls. As a raging storm closes them off from the outside world, Earle and his companions find that what is waiting within the manor is not nearly as horrific as what has entered with him… In the spirit of M. R. James, England’s most accomplished ghost story writer (Casting the Runes, Whistle and I’ll Come To You My Lad, The Haunted Doll’s House) and with a nod to the classic black and white film classics of Columbia Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayor, Universal Pictures and 20th Century Fox. O’Byrne’s award winning production is a love letter to both the Golden Age of Hollywood and England’s Hammer Horror era. As a ghost story it sits shoulder to shoulder alongside the classic ghost stories down the decades. The show has been thrilling audiences from coast to coast in truly magnificent theatres. Many of those audiences returning to see the show again with their friends, such is the power and intrigue of the narrative embedded deeply in the supernatural culture and heritage of these isles. ‘This is horror built from the ground up, including the sound effects. I wanted the sound design to be entirely original, along with the music. As a cast we spent a rainy afternoon in a Sheffield sound studio, there we all went quite mad creating the most horrific of soundscapes, it chills audiences to the bone. The sound production and music are by Justin Wetherill, digital visuals and trailers are by Darren McGinn. The firecracker cast feature Peter Slater as Dr. Roy Earle, Andrew Yates as Cairo, Jo Haydock as Vivian Rutledge, Jimmy Allen as Adolphus Scarabus, Ed Barry as Vincent De Lambré and Joe O’Byrne as Grady. And yes, for the film geeks I’ve had a good few nods to horror and noir classics down the years, that was part of the fun writing this, see if you can spot them.’

Joe O’Byrne