Ghost stories is back in the West End, after a run in 2010, a tour and a film, writers Jeremy Dyson and Andy Newman have decided that Halloween 2019 is the perfect time to scare London afresh.

Ghost Stories, as you would suspect, relies on a build up of tension to make the show successful so divulging any information could potentially spoil a fundamental element of the show so what follows is a completely spoiler free review in order to to ensure that the audience member enjoys it as much as I did and that the scare factor is not diminished at all.

Whilst I do not want to go into the plot at all it is suffice to say that the show is incredibly clever and well written. I had seen the show in 2010 and even on the second viewing I was riveted but the ongoing plot.

The show is superb at setting up the tension ready to try to scare the audience witless. A major factor of this success is the sound design by Nick Manning. Manning has ensured that every moment throughout the show is considered, not only with background effects or indeed silence but the volume of the sound. At times I felt that my heart was beating so in sync with the sound effects and I am sure that this was a conscious decision! This combined with the lighting design by James Farncombe and special effects by Scott Penrose ensures that every opportunity is fully maximised to build up the tension or scare the audience as much as possible.

The set is impressive and transforms the setting completely. From one scene to the next they bore no resemblance to the other. A small criticism is that some of the scene changes are noisy and can be heard underneath dialogue that was taking place to cover them.

It is a small cast of 4 made up of Simon Lipkin as Professor Goodman, Garry Cooper as Tony Matthews, Preston Nyman as Simon Rifkind and Richard Sutton as Mike Priddle. All 4 embody their characters totally and Lipkin as Professor Goodman easily lures the audience into the intrigue surrounding Ghost Stories.

Ghost Stories is masterclass in building up tension and how all elements of theatre seamlessly work together to create the scariest show I have seen!

Ghost Stories is running at the Ambassadors Theatre until 4th January. To book tickets visit Ambassadors Theatre Groups website.

If you like this review you might also like my review for Woman in Black and an Inspector Calls.