Kim Newman; Halloween Double Bill at Old Red Lion Theatre

Spend Halloween night in the company of ghosts, villains, monsters and very bad decisions as GrimFest presents the UK premiere of two darkly comic radio plays by acclaimed horror writer Kim Newman, staged as live readings for one night only.

Featuring Sarah Minds the Dog and Mildew Manor (or, The Italian Smile), this unique double bill blends gothic horror, sharp wit and outrageous twists, with one story placing the ending in the audience’s hands.

Presented on the final night of GrimFest, expect candlelight, atmosphere, plenty of laughs and the occasional gasp of terror. Directed by Nina Atesh and produced by Pither Productions in association with GrimFest and the Old Red Lion Theatre.

Sarah Minds the Dog

Sarah has finally landed the perfect job: housesitting for a wealthy (and possibly terrifying) international businessman. Looking after the family home, a reclusive teenager and a much-loved Rottweiler, Dynamo, should be easy enough... but a series of increasingly questionable decisions soon sends Sarah spiralling into a comic nightmare. This is a darkly funny tale of panic, improvisation and the dangers of trying to solve one problem by creating several much bigger ones.

Mildew Manor (or the Italian Smile)

Welcome to Mildew Manor: a crumbling gothic estate filled with mysterious deaths, dark bargains, suspicious guardians, swooning heroines, masked villains and at least one thing lurking in the shadows. Newman’s wickedly funny love letter to classic gothic melodrama, this is a riotous tale of romance, horror and outrageous villainy and comes with a twist: you decide how it ends! Will virtue triumph, evil prevail, or will something even stranger emerge from the darkness? The choice is yours.