Visit London Blog » The Woman in Black http://blog.visitlondon.com Enjoy the very best of London Mon, 20 May 2013 21:03:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Celebrate Halloween in London with a Terrifying Trip to the Theatre http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/10/celebrate-halloween-in-london-with-a-terrifying-trip-to-the-theatre/ http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/10/celebrate-halloween-in-london-with-a-terrifying-trip-to-the-theatre/#comments Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:00:56 +0000 Zoe Craig http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=23478 Halloween is here again! If you’re looking for something different to spook you this year, why not check out one of London’s super-scary theatre shows celebrating All Hallows’ Eve?

Terror Season at the Soho Theatre: 19 Oct-5 Nov
Head down to Soho Downstairs, a new underground comedy and cabaret venue for the Soho Theatre’s annual season of horror theatre. Prepare to be terrified and thrilled by an evening of twisted tales, cabaret and Halloween oddities at this controversial sell-out event. Hosted by Desmond O’Connor and Merrill Grant, look out for special guests Jonny Woo, Dusty Limits, Laura Corcoran from Frisky and Mannish, and Fancy Chance.
www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/terror

Festival of the Dead at the Battersea Arts Centre: 28-29 Oct
The Nabokov Arts Club is taking over Battersea Arts Centre, filling the whole space with two consecutive nights of Halloween madness. Festival of the Dead promises to be an extravaganza of live theatre, music, comedy, dance and visual art, all wrapped up into a big party. Highlights include storytelling and poetry, comic theatre with Bad Physics and the Curious Directive, and an immersive theatrical event by Nabokov, Tangled Feet and award-winning playwright Polly Stenham.
www.bac.org.uk/whats-on/nabokov-arts-club

London Horror Festival at the Courtyard Theatre: 25 Oct-27 Nov
More than just a Halloween theatre show, the London Horror Festival presents five weeks’ of dark and challenging performing arts. As well as the Theatre of the Damned’s Revenge of the Grand Guignol, there’s also a performance by Le Nouveau Guignol, the world’s only permanent repertory horror theatre company.
www.londonhorrorfestival.com

All Hallows at the Fan Museum: 31 Oct-1 Nov
A terrifying new play called All Hallows: A Play About Fear receives its premiere reading at the Fan Museum this Halloween. Five professional actors present a story covering more than 120 years of unexpected and decidedly chilling events. Adult themes mean this show isn’t suitable for young people under 16, or those of a nervous disposition. You have been warned!
thefanmuseum.org.uk/events

The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre: booking until 2012
One of the longest running West End shows ever, The Woman in Black still continues to haunt everyone who sees it. Head to the Fortune Theatre this Halloween to see one of the most exciting, spooky, gripping and successful theatre shows ever staged. The Woman in Black isn’t gory or filled with gruesome horror, but as the drama and tension build, you’ll still find your spine totally chilled by the terrifying, ghostly truths unfolding on stage.
www.thewomaninblack.com

Looking for more tips for enjoying Halloween in London? Check out what’s on elsewhere for Halloween, or read out guide to London’s best Halloween Club Nights…

]]> http://blog.visitlondon.com/2011/10/celebrate-halloween-in-london-with-a-terrifying-trip-to-the-theatre/feed/ 0 The Scariest Theatre Shows in London: Ghost Stories, The Woman in Black and more… http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/10/the-scariest-theatre-shows-in-london-ghost-stories-the-woman-in-black-and-more/ http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/10/the-scariest-theatre-shows-in-london-ghost-stories-the-woman-in-black-and-more/#comments Mon, 25 Oct 2010 08:30:10 +0000 Milly Kenny-Ryder http://blog.visitlondon.com/?p=14941 How much can a play affect you… surely not enough to really frighten you? That’s what I thought before going to see Ghost Stories and The Woman in Black recently. These shows claim to be the “scariest” currently on in London… and both succeeded in scaring me, but in different ways.

The Woman in Black is currently celebrating its 21st year in London’s West End; the rather dingy building and dangerously intimate Fortune Theatre has become its home. The performance combines theatrical illusion and trickery with a disturbing narrative, scaring even the coolest of hearts.

Ghost Stories was written only recently and is more contemporary in every way. The production feels more like an experiment in fear, presenting archetypal myths and using clever technology to make them come alive. As you take your seat, there is no light or programme sellers to welcome you in, instead the dimly lit Duke of Yorks Theatre is haunted with a soundtrack of drips and rumbles and eerie screeches. There is no interval, which builds up tension and you are warned: if you leave the theatre during the performance you will be unable to return.

What both shows have in common is a real talent for inducing terror through all the senses. Employing mostly sound and sight, but also touch and smell as scare tactics.  As for taste, I know I left both theatres with the taste of fear in my mouth.

More spooky shows to see in London:

Halloween is only a week away, so book your tickets to London’s scariest shows now!

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