Inspired by the scary film franchise, playwright Levi Holloway and Punchdrunk maestro Felix Barrett are bringing the ‘bizarrely joyous’ world of terror to the stage

Malevolent spirits be damned – theatres can be haunted simply by the memory of bad plays and perhaps unscary horror in particular. The last time London’s Ambassadors theatre aimed to give audiences the shivers, with The Enfield Haunting, it led to some frightfully poor reviews . But a couple of years later, this intimate West End playhouse is hosting Paranormal Activity, a new instalment in the franchise that was kickstarted by a low-budget supernatural movie about a couple plagued by inexplicable nocturnal noises. “Hold your nerve” runs the play’s tagline – a directive you suspect applies not just to the audience.

Arriving at the theatre on the day of the first preview, it’s not creepy bumps and thuds that echo through the building but whizzing drills, sound checks and the last-minute discussions of a crew with a deadline. Perched in the dress circle bar, US playwright Levi Holloway and director Felix Barrett (best known as the founder of immersive theatre specialists Punchdrunk) are discussing how rarely they have been frightened in the theatre.

Inspired by the scary film franchise, playwright Levi Holloway and Punchdrunk maestro Felix Barrett are bringing the ‘bizarrely joyous’ world of terror to the stage

Malevolent spirits be damned – theatres can be haunted simply by the memory of bad plays and perhaps unscary horror in particular. The last time London’s Ambassadors theatre aimed to give audiences the shivers, with The Enfield Haunting, it led to some frightfully poor reviews . But a couple of years later, this intimate West End playhouse is hosting Paranormal Activity, a new instalment in the franchise that was kickstarted by a low-budget supernatural movie about a couple plagued by inexplicable nocturnal noises. “Hold your nerve” runs the play’s tagline – a directive you suspect applies not just to the audience.

Arriving at the theatre on the day of the first preview, it’s not creepy bumps and thuds that echo through the building but whizzing drills, sound checks and the last-minute discussions of a crew with a deadline. Perched in the dress circle bar, US playwright Levi Holloway and director Felix Barrett (best known as the founder of immersive theatre specialists Punchdrunk) are discussing how rarely they have been frightened in the theatre.

Inspired by the scary film franchise, playwright Levi Holloway and Punchdrunk maestro Felix Barrett are bringing the ‘bizarrely joyous’ world of terror to the stage

Malevolent spirits be damned – theatres can be haunted simply by the memory of bad plays and perhaps unscary horror in particular. The last time London’s Ambassadors theatre aimed to give audiences the shivers, with The Enfield Haunting, it led to some frightfully poor reviews . But a couple of years later, this intimate West End playhouse is hosting Paranormal Activity, a new instalment in the franchise that was kickstarted by a low-budget supernatural movie about a couple plagued by inexplicable nocturnal noises. “Hold your nerve” runs the play’s tagline – a directive you suspect applies not just to the audience.

Arriving at the theatre on the day of the first preview, it’s not creepy bumps and thuds that echo through the building but whizzing drills, sound checks and the last-minute discussions of a crew with a deadline. Perched in the dress circle bar, US playwright Levi Holloway and director Felix Barrett (best known as the founder of immersive theatre specialists Punchdrunk) are discussing how rarely they have been frightened in the theatre.

Co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs given more jail time by US judge than prosecutors sought

Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud.

The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.

Co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs given more jail time by US judge than prosecutors sought

Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud.

The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.

Co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs given more jail time by US judge than prosecutors sought

Do Kwon, the entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost $40bn (£29.8bn) three years ago and caused the sector to crash, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud.

The South Korean, 34, had pleaded guilty to two counts of US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.

Shadow chancellor says unexpected contraction is ‘direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement’

Good morning. Growth figures out today show the economy shrinking in October. This is worse than economists were expecting.

Richard Partington has the story here.

Britain’s economy shrank unexpectedly in October as consumers held back on spending before Rachel Reeves’s budget and car manufacturing struggled to recover from the cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover .

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product fell by 0.1%, after a 0.1% drop in output in September. City economists had predicted a 0.1% rise in October.

This morning’s news that the economy unexpectedly shrank in the three months to October is extremely concerning but it’s as a direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement.

Rachel Reeves promised growth but Labour has no plan for the economy - just their own survival, that’s why Reeves presented a Benefits Budget that rewards welfare not work.

It wasn’t unexpected.

As I said at the time, the chancellor’s shambolic dishonesty in the run-up to the budget, slowed down economic activity and killed growth.

Shadow chancellor says unexpected contraction is ‘direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement’

Good morning. Growth figures out today show the economy shrinking in October. This is worse than economists were expecting.

Richard Partington has the story here.

Britain’s economy shrank unexpectedly in October as consumers held back on spending before Rachel Reeves’s budget and car manufacturing struggled to recover from the cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover .

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product fell by 0.1%, after a 0.1% drop in output in September. City economists had predicted a 0.1% rise in October.

This morning’s news that the economy unexpectedly shrank in the three months to October is extremely concerning but it’s as a direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement.

Rachel Reeves promised growth but Labour has no plan for the economy - just their own survival, that’s why Reeves presented a Benefits Budget that rewards welfare not work.

It wasn’t unexpected.

As I said at the time, the chancellor’s shambolic dishonesty in the run-up to the budget, slowed down economic activity and killed growth.

Shadow chancellor says unexpected contraction is ‘direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement’

Good morning. Growth figures out today show the economy shrinking in October. This is worse than economists were expecting.

Richard Partington has the story here.

Britain’s economy shrank unexpectedly in October as consumers held back on spending before Rachel Reeves’s budget and car manufacturing struggled to recover from the cyber-attack on Jaguar Land Rover .

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed gross domestic product fell by 0.1%, after a 0.1% drop in output in September. City economists had predicted a 0.1% rise in October.

This morning’s news that the economy unexpectedly shrank in the three months to October is extremely concerning but it’s as a direct result of Labour’s economic mismanagement.

Rachel Reeves promised growth but Labour has no plan for the economy - just their own survival, that’s why Reeves presented a Benefits Budget that rewards welfare not work.

It wasn’t unexpected.

As I said at the time, the chancellor’s shambolic dishonesty in the run-up to the budget, slowed down economic activity and killed growth.