It Walks Around The House At Night – Southwark Playhouse, Borough

Writer: Tim Foley
Director: Neil Bettles

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Suitably Spooky“

4 / 5

Out of work actor Joe jumps at the chance when he’s offered an obscure role playing a ghost at a countryside mansion. Paying £2000 to wander around the house at night, in an attempt to give the inhabitants of the home a thrill, it’s a no-brainer. He’s more than happy to ditch his bar job for a week, stop serving spirits and become one instead.

Though on arrival at the lavish countryside manor, something feels off. Decked out in suitable ghostly period costume, Joe (George Naylor) starts to walk the route as outlined by the handsome, mysterious man that hired him, but is certain there is someone else on the grounds with him, following him in the darkness as he makes his rounds. Each night things get weirder and more disturbing, but the payslip motivates him to ignore the strange goings on at Paragon Hall and do his best to stick out his contract.

Tim Foley’s script is delivered exceptionally well by Naylor who gives a masterful performance as Joe. His personable way of unravelling the storyline is immediately intriguing, humorous quips sprinkled in throughout that are well timed and natural, his pacing perfect, as he slowly builds the tension around his spooky surroundings. He’s occasionally accompanied by ‘The Dancer’ Oliver Baines, who has no lines, but still says a thousand words with his impressively slick, sleek movements as he darts, crawls and writhes around on stage.

Equally as exciting is the superb production design in the hands of Joshua Pharo (lighting and video), Pete Malkin (sound) and Tom Robbins & Neil Bettles (set). The immersive design completely envelopes the audience, stark lighting creating eerie shadow work alongside the expert sound effects, projected video of trees and maps adding a modern, immersive touch to the otherwise relatively classic ghost story techniques, and expertly timed adjustments to deliver successful, never overdone, jump scares that cause a ripple of delight in the audience.

The storyline itself, is enjoyable enough, and suitably spooky, though it does tend to lose its way somewhat in the latter half of the show. The earlier build up is well balanced and deftly layered – just enough mystery alongside the conversational monologue. As the suspense ramps up, it’s hard not to be hooked, the occasional scare thrown in to level off the anticipation, while remaining firmly fixed on the unfolding, interesting narrative. But right when it hits a pinnacle point of tension, rather than capitalising on it, it quickly, intentionally dissolves it with a long, convoluted voiceover, signposting the intricacies behind the home Joe is staying in. While having the explanation does help progress the plot, it doesn’t fit the rest of the otherwise concise set up, the exposition evaporating the well built momentum, and struggling after that point to claw it back, despite Naylor’s exceptional performance.

With a myriad of ideas it could benefit from a tighter focus, Naylor’s frustration at class division and the struggling arts are cleverly integrated, though his ongoing communication with his boss feels lightly shoehorned into the script in comparison. An excellently creepy tale nonetheless, that ties everything together and leaves no questions unanswered.

Runs until 28th March 2026