...called The Haunting comes to Nottingham theatre

'At the centre of it all is the horrific murder of a young woman'

A play based on elements of Charles Dickens' ghost stories will be presented at the Lace Market Theatre in January. First time director Adam Goodchild explains more...

What makes The Haunting a must-see?

When I accepted the offer to direct The Haunting I knew straight away I wanted it to be different from the Lace Market Theatre's other output. The aim has been not only to produce a great play, but to use new techniques, create interesting special effects and produce an atmosphere that will fill the auditorium and send shivers down the audience's spines.

Make no mistake, there will be parts that make you jump, but it's the uneasy and on edge feeling that the audience will experience, while wondering what will happen next, that excites me.

The story itself contains so many elements and a great deal of emotions. Faith, love, duty and theory's about life after death are all questioned during the course of the play and at the centre of it all is the horrific murder of a young woman.

It's a period play indeed, but it has been directed with the aim of making it feel modern and relevant.

What challenges did you face creating suspense and terror?

The special effects. The plan was to utilise techniques I had learnt from other entertainment industries and tailor them for a theatre environment. On stage even something as simple as making an object move on its own presents problems. The entire audience's sight lines must be taken into account, so the illusion isn't spoilt by an exposed pulley or cable.

We also had to make sure that the mechanics of each effect didn't hinder the actors in anyway and they are doing a great job.

Along with the more unusual effects we are also using tried and tested tricks such as smoke and pyrotechnics. Combined with the lighting and sound, the audience should feel completely immersed.

How do the works of Charles Dickens contribute to the story?

The Victorians had a strong interest in the paranormal as did Dickens. He wrote many short ghost stories and The Haunting utilises parts from many of those.

The play starts with the mysterious ringing of servant bells in an empty house, which could easily be compared to Scrooge's experience in A Christmas Carol, for example. Although the play is a period piece and set in the 1800s, it only borrows certain elements from Dickens' work and is itself written in a completely modern style.

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