Ghostly Tales of Sussex set to haunt the stage

There will be four shows a day (one hour five minutes each) on both Saturday, October 5 and Sunday, October 6 at the Marlipins Museum. It comes from Half-Time Orange Theatre and has been written by the company’s co-artistic director Ethan Taylor.

There is something spooky afoot in Shoreham. Rumours are swirling and whispers abound of haunted cries heard throughout the night, of spectral riders, ghoulish visions and figures in the mist… Luckily, Victorian spiritualist and paranormal investigator Julius Douris is on the case and determined to get to the bottom of whoever – or whatever – it is that roams the footbridge at night.

Julius – played by Sussex actor Isaac Finch – will relate tales of supernatural sightings, ghostly goings-on and cases cracked as well as an array of 19th century techniques and practices with which to solve the mystery of Shoreham’s most infamous wandering spirit.

Ethan said: “This is the premiere of the show. We have developed a really lovely relationship with Shoreham Wordfest. We visited them last year with a show about tales of Shoreham, going through various characters in its history, and the show went very well. We had a nice discussion with them about what they would like to see us bring to the stage, and given the fact that Shoreham Wordfest runs at this time of year we thought we would capitalise early doors on the idea of Halloween.

“We found stories through various authors connected to Sussex folklore and the research that I did for the previous show also delved into ghosts in quite an auxiliary capacity. You could not help but touch on ghost stories.”

Ethan admits that he can't say he believes in ghosts himself, never having had a paranormal experience, but as he says, he certainly believes in ghost stories and finds fascinating the hold that they have over us: “We all love ghost stories. I think there is the fear element, the adrenalin that is similar to going on a rollercoaster. It's something that we can't quite quantify and something that we don't know how to deal with, and if you get a malicious ghost, then you could be powerless but I think it's also the fact that ghost stories are tied to people and to places. Every ghost story is at its heart a story and as humans we all love stories. But I also think that ghost stories are stories of hope. They suggest that there is a life after death. The hope is that death is not the end or that if you have lost someone then you might be able to connect with them in some way.”

The central ghost story in the show is the blue lady who haunts Shoreham footbridge, but it is a show, if all goes well in Shoreham, that Ethan believes could well be adapted to different places. Ultimately it's a show he would love to tour, especially given the huge wealth of Sussex ghost stories out there.

As for why the Shoreham ghost haunts a footbridge: “We do rationalise why a ghost might haunt a certain place, whether they're tethered to that place by love or by the place itself or by unanswered questions…”