James and Lou move from Chicago to London to escape their past, but they soon discover that places aren't haunted, people are… Inspired by the iconic, terrifying film series, Paranormal Activity is a new story live on stage.
Paranormal Activity reimagines the modern ghost story with an unsettling intimacy only theatre can provide. Immersing audiences in an atmosphere of creeping dread, unseen forces, and psychological tension, Levi Holloway's script offers a bold reinterpretation of the original, blending domestic horror with mind-bending theatricality. Felix Barrett, known for breaking boundaries between audience and performer, brings his signature visionary style to the production. With innovative staging and chilling soundscapes, Paranormal Activity invites audiences to witness the inexplicable up close—and feel the fear in real time.
There’s some pretty jaw-dropping stuff I’d best not even obliquely describe. But on the whole it avoids manipulative jump scares in favour of unnerving moments of rug pulling, where what you assumed was happening in a scene is revealed to be horrifyingly off the mark. And the creepy atmosphere stuff is second to none, from subtle things – the play of light reflected from passing vehicles creates the sense of movement in the house at night – to full on: it opens in pitch darkness, with Nirvana’s ‘Lithium’ raging around us, a truly weird experience, elated and suffocating at once.
Winslow is used in a particularly creepy way, as we begin to distrust everything we’re seeing. These tech-savvy ghosts are dab hands at controlling the TV feed and telephone. The experience depends heavily on Gareth Fry’s sound design, which creates a bed of unease with blaring shocks at the very top end of West End volume limits. The story works pretty well – but it’s essentially an engine to spring nasty surprises on the audience. In the best tradition of spooky theatre at this time of year, it sends you out huddling in your coat before you’ve even left the building.
| 2025 | West End |
West End |
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