Writers: Florence Espeut-Nickless, Simon Longman, Anne Odeke, Rosa Torr
Director: Elle While
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Creepy, Captivating Collection“
4.5 / 5
~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub~
Four individually written ghost stories, one mysterious white horse motif that appears in each of them, and two excellent actors make this fantastically frightening show one to remember.
One of the show’s greatest strengths is the variety of its intricately crafted stories. Although they all focus on horror, none of them feel similar, allowing the audience to stay fully engaged with each one without experiencing a repeated sense of narrative. Lu Herbert’s set design, Anna Short’s sound design and Jonathan Chan’s lighting design work harmoniously to extract as much tension and fear as possible and are integral to the impact that is delivered successfully. The well-judged moments of sudden, complete silence and darkness after each story allow the narrative to fully embed, while also giving a moment of respite to recover.
Each of the stories is performed as monologues by Keaton Guimarães-Tolley and Sarita Gabony, who add a unique spin on each of the characters they portray. Guimarães-Tolley adds a comedic take to both of his characters – the cocky schoolboy in The White Horse and the cringey YouTuber in The Takeover are both excellently done, the humour adding a layer of personability to each of them, which makes the slow transition into horror even more devastating. His differing use of accents is impressively precise, capturing the smallest nuances of pronunciation and inflexion to perfection. His swift character shifts in The Takeover, in particular, are sharp and polished; the fast pacing of the narrative alongside the intensity of the tale is brilliantly compelling.
Gabony has immaculate pacing within her storytelling in both Cold Oak Lane and Consequences of Diving Lots, mastering her delivery and slowly allowing the atmosphere to become more unsettled as each of the narratives progresses. Her character in Cold Oak Lane is reserved and measured, gently telling the tale, while also extracting the emotional aspects of her personal life, with Short’s unnerving sound design contributing to the uncomfortable conclusion. In Consequences of Diving Lots, her character is frantic and excitable, which works well with Herbert’s constant opening door as a new lot is displayed. Her impeccable sleight of hand as she quickly produces items out of nowhere works in conjunction with her character’s fast unravelling, towards the quick, shocking culmination.
The concept is simple yet wonderfully executed. Each well-written story is given enough focus to shine individually, while still having the horse as a connecting thread to showcase them all together. A creepy, captivating, candlelit collection.
Runs until 8 November 2025
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