Peterborough playwright helps pen spooky pre-Halloween production

If you’re looking to experience some genuine spooky chills in the run-up to Halloween then a new live theatre production co-penned by a Peterborough playwright could be just the ticket.

Billed as an “evening of contemporary tales and music from the ‘Haunted Counties’ of East Anglia,” More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight is an attempt to bring the naturally spooky heritage of our region back to the masses.

Aisha Zia, an award-winning writer from Peterborough, is one of the four playwrights who have contributed stories to the touring production.

The acclaimed wordsmith acknowledged that the challenge of writing ghost stories put her well and truly ”out of my comfort zone.”

“Writing a ghost story comes with its challenges, mainly plot,” she explained, adding: “If you want to spook people you have to know where to place the chills.”

This year’s production follows on the heels of its predecessor, Ghost Stories by Candlelight, which enjoyed a successful run last year.

Along with conventional theatres, the producers are deliberately taking the 2024 tour to characterful and atmospheric non-theatrical spaces like Colchester’s Layer Marney Towers and Old Divinity Hall in Cambridge.

The reason for staging performances in these so-called ‘non-traditional venues is to hark back to the now somewhat lost tradition of storytelling in pubs, village halls and other community hubs.

Aisha worked in collaboration with fellow writers Tassa Deparis, James McDermott and Eloise Pennycott to put the evening together. All four spooky storytellers have connections to the East of England.

Aisha said collaborating with her peers was a highly rewarding process:

“It’s been an extraordinary exercise but one I’ve been supported through with excellent dramaturgy and a whole team of brilliant writers with their own juicy tales to tell,” she said.

More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight is scheduled to perform at 11 venues across the East of England, starting at the Easter Angles centre in Ipswich on October 15.

The show will then arrive at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on 30 October in time for a six-night Halloween run at Shakespeare’s Globe. More information and a ful list of tour dates can be found at https://hightide.org.uk/event/more-ghost-stories-by-candlelight/