The Mist in the Mirror - Nottingham Playhouse

For a birthday treat, I'd asked for tickets to The Mist in the Mirror at Nottingham Playhouse. It's a stage adaptation of Susan Hill's book of the same name, and, as you might guess, it's a ghost story. This was why I wanted to see it - I've seen all sorts of theatre performances from panto to Greek tragedy, but never a ghost story. I rarely find scary books to be very frightening, films rely heavily on camera tricks, so I was curious how the spooky atmosphere would be captured on stage - and would it work for me...

 James Monmouth returns to England after a life-time spent abroad, intent on tracking down an adventurer who has proved an inspiration to him - and uncovers a ghastly family history.

 I'm not sure I'd so so far as to say it scared me but it held my attention - and, I think, most of the audience's - through out. The special effects certainly built up the right atmosphere for the telling of a ghost story - rain lashing at the windows, snow piling up on the moors or fog drifting across the scene. A lot of the time the stage was kept very dark, only lit by a tiny pinprick of light - all very atmospheric and with plenty of shadows for ghosts to hide in. For me, it all worked brilliantly, and I loved it from start to finish!