Preview: The Red Room at South Shields Customs House

GOTHIC STORY WILL SEND SHIVERS UP THE SPINE THIS HALLOWEEN

The Red Room

South Shields Customs House

Tuesday 31^st October 2017

Rumpus Theatre Company is back at The Customs House this Halloween with a spine-chilling new play based on a classic ghost story.

Karen Henson as Jenny Markham in The Red Room.

The Red Room, based on a short story of the same name by The War of the Worlds writer HG Wells, will keep audiences on the edge of their seat on Tuesday, October 31.

The play is written by Karen Henson, who also plays the lead role of Jenny Markham, who spends a night alone in an apparently haunted room.

Director John Goodrum said: “The play throws all the classic ingredients in the air to create an edge-of-your-seat, up-to-the-minute take on HG Wells’ original tale. It’s very much in the mould of last year’s gripping BBC series The Living and the Dead, with a few elements of Most Haunted thrown in for good measure. It’s a familiar scenario, but the outcome is totally unexpected and utterly terrifying!”

Karen has appeared in numerous theatre productions on tour and in the West End, following training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Her most recent appearance for Rumpus was as Irene Adler in the 2014 tour of Sherlock Holmes – The Scandal of the Scarlet Woman. The Red Room was written by HG Wells in 1894 and first published in 1896.

An unnamed protagonist chooses to spend the night in an allegedly haunted room in Lorraine Castle, determined to disprove the legends surrounding it.

Initially confident, the narrator becomes increasingly uneasy in the room.

Ray Spencer, executive director of The Customs House, said: “Rumpus have been coming to us for many years with their spooky autumn productions. They never disappoint and it’s an added bonus that this year we have them on Halloween night.”

Tickets:

The show starts at 7.45pm and is recommended for ages 12 and above.

Tickets are £13, or £12 concessions and £11 for Friends of The Customs House. Contact the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or book online at www.customshouse.co.uk.