The Ghost of Graves End – Unity Theatre

Step back in time and delve into the creepy yet comedic story ‘The Ghost of Graves End’ written by Robert Farquhar and directed by Lucy Thatcher.

Poet Charles (Greg Jones) is unknowingly seeking employment via his overly zealous fiance (Georgia Chadwick) when she thrusts upon him a rather intriguing position as a tutor. A new opportunity which Charles soon comes to realise, may be more than he bargained for. A peculiar and strange pupil William (Chadwick), a collection of odd happenings and all too real dreams makes this a collectively creepy watch. However, to keep the show more light hearted and fun, comedy is cleverly interwoven throughout the scenes, characters and storyline.

Deliciously dark and wickedly witty, audiences are kept engaged by the frantic atmosphere and ever changing props. The cast are clearly very talented portraying an array of characters each with their very own unique and quirky characterisation. The actors intertwined comedy into the characterisation by depicting stereotypes and personalities using almost characature like features.

 The facial expressions and physicalisation of the actors was superb in portraying the thought, expression and feelings unsaid.

Jones was an excellent lead illustrating excellent comedic timing, confidence and good character development, helping sometimes to move the scenes along. He was able to elicit audience response and engagement easily. A powerful yet fun performance.

Mrs Doubry (Sian Weedon), frustratingly adorable. Weedon demonstrated her diverse acting abilities, taking on multiple roles and also playing a strong principle part. Confidently able to carry solo comedic scenes, her silent but strong emotive facial expressions and gestures led to some brilliant moments. She bounced off all other cast members quickly and with clear conviction.

Tim Lynskey played a wide variety of roles, demonstrating his versatile ability to smoothly transition between a multitude of characters (author, master, Mr Doubry, taxi) an excellent master of ceremonies to hook the audience from the very beginning, he becomes a firm favourite very quickly as his over emphasis and farce is thoughrally entertaining. An almost John Cleese-esc portrayal at times.

Georgia Chadwick who is curiously cute and adorable sinister all in one as she portrays the mysterious odd William. Superbly satirical as one overly egotistical and daddy’s girl Dotty. A strong portrayal of two very contrasting characters showing a wide range of skills. Attention to detail with minute but cleverly used mannerisms and excellent vocalisation.

Alex McGonagle (Waiter/Doctor) and Sophie Jones (Miss Widget) also played. Variety of roles throughout, switching with ease and adaptability. McGonaagle went from super camp and fabulous as the waiter, to straight faced and serious within narration to stern for the doctor. A very multifaceted performance by a very talented actor. Jones similarly showed precision skilfulness in transforming through characters from sinister and creepy, to farcical Miss Widget. An all-round excellent performance.

The production was heavily supported with excellent timing and precision by the sound and lighting (Laurence Noble). With minimal set, Noble demonstrated that you can still produce atmospheric scenery and depict exactly what is occurring on stage using only these elements. A very strong aspect to this production.

Staging and props (Shannon Lancashire) were very minimal but also used in a very resourceful way, again demonstrating that with a strong production and cast, you don’t need all the grandiose of some productions to produce an exciting and engaging show.

Overall, a wonderful production with a strong and versatile cast. An excellent mix of comedy and creepy. I would have loved the darker more sinister moments to be more developed as I really enjoyed the scare factor and think they could really utilise this to its best potential. I was really engaged throughout this performance and enjoyed the narration being split between characters which kept my attention. However, at times, when something was funny, I felt the scene was then repeated far too many times for comedic effect which made me feel that I just wanted them to continue with the storyline. It was my only real gripe, and I found myself hoping something wasn’t going to be over-egged when the audience laughed. Despite this, it is a show I would recommend as I had a wonderful evening, and the production achieved its goal of scary fun.

Reviewer: Steph Wiswall

Reviewed: 28th January 2026

North West End UK Rating: