I love to be read stories – I think a lot of us do, something from our childhood- being read to by our parent or grandparents or those nostalgic back and white films, when a family sit in awe round the fire, listening to grandparents tell exciting tales of mystery and suspense.
I adore the fact that at the wonderful Norton Priory , unique events are run that embrace the arts and theatre in a way that nourishes the soul and so, as I joined the full-house seats in front of the ancient atmospheric Victorian Porch of the museum’s Atrium (very fitting) ,I was as a child again waiting in anticipation for the intrigue to commence.
Our ‘grandfather’ in this instance was Gav Cross – a true storyteller – the physique, the round end- of- nose spectacles and the roaring voice- inviting us all to enjoy, participate and indulge in this Victorian parlour pastime that became an institution.
He explained that the stories would be in two parts – the first would be his depiction (with authentic whiskey punch in hand) of Victorian ghost tales written by Jerome K Jerome (famed author of Three Men in a Boat) from 1891 and the second would be him sharing his own ghost story and then inviting the audience to share theirs. The audience already seemed very eager and so the stage was set.
Gav proceeded to share with us, three comic horror tales of ghostly happenings, robustly bringing these Victorian treasures to life ,with attention-grabbing vibrancy, charm, humour and passion (I will not share these stories as this would give everything away – but needless to say the stories were poignant for an evening of classic ‘tales of the unexpected’ and left the crowd captivated.
The second act consisted of Gav sharing own of his own stories and this tale was again told with intrigue and humour. Then it was the audience’s turn to tell their tales, which they did readily taking front spot by the stage and Gav. The audience responded to these personal renditions with rapturous applause, laughter and appreciation – all in equal measure.
Gav Cross is taking his whimsical tales (of both ghostly tales and then fittingly tales of Christmas) across the Northwest over the next couple of months and his dates can be found at https://gavcross.co.uk/
A masterclass of storytelling!
Reviewer: Jan Mellor
Reviewed: 25th October 2025
North West End UK Rating: