Paranormal Activity

If you think you know what to expect from Paranormal Activity, forget everything you have seen on screen. This is not a stage adaptation of one of the films, but a completely new story inspired by the franchise – and it delivers an experience that is unlike almost anything else you are likely to encounter in a theatre.

Paranormal Activity has transformed the stage at Milton Keynes Theatre into something extraordinarily convincing: a fully realised house, complete with kitchen, living space, staircase, upstairs bedroom and bathroom. It doesn't feel like a theatre set. It feels like a real home.

And that is absolutely crucial to what makes this production work.

James and Lou have moved from Chicago to London to escape their past, and as the audience watches them settle into their new home, the opening scenes feel remarkably ordinary. You are effectively watching two people simply living their lives. There is an intimacy to it that makes you feel as though you are an unseen presence inside their house.

Then things begin to change.

What follows is a masterclass in building tension. Rather than bombarding the audience with constant jump scares, the production understands that sometimes the most frightening thing is waiting to see what might happen next. A seemingly insignificant moment can suddenly become deeply unsettling, and the smallest movement or sound can have the entire audience holding its breath.

The realism of the set makes everything even more disturbing. When something inexplicable happens in that house, it doesn't feel as though a theatrical trick has just taken place – it feels as though something has actually happened inside the home you have been watching.

And there are some extraordinary theatrical tricks.

The illusions, created by Chris Fisher, are genuinely jaw-dropping, while Felix Barrett's direction makes brilliant use of the theatre space. There are moments when you will find yourself wondering how on earth something has just happened, followed by the realisation that you have absolutely no idea how they could possibly have done it.

Sound and lighting are equally important weapons in the production. Gareth Fry's sound design creates an atmosphere that can go from unsettling to downright terrifying, while Anna Watson's lighting repeatedly plunges the audience into darkness.

And when I say darkness, I mean complete darkness.

There are moments when even the emergency exit signs disappear, leaving the entire theatre pitch black. You can hear the audience around you reacting to what is happening – people jumping out of their seats, gasping and, at several points, genuinely screaming.

It is that collective reaction that makes experiencing horror in a theatre so different from watching it at home.

You aren't alone on a sofa, able to pause the television or turn on the lights. You are sitting in a room full of strangers, all experiencing exactly the same thing at exactly the same moment. When somebody several rows away suddenly screams, you don't necessarily know what caused it – which can make the anticipation even worse.

James Bye and Hannah Sinclair Robinson are excellent as James and Lou, creating believable characters whose relationship feels grounded and natural. That sense of authenticity is essential because the more convincing their ordinary domestic life becomes, the more unsettling it is when the ordinary starts to become very, very wrong.

The production also demonstrates just how powerful live theatre can be when it comes to horror. Cinema has cameras, editing and visual effects at its disposal. Theatre has none of those things – and yet Paranormal Activity manages to exploit that limitation brilliantly, making your imagination do much of the work.

There are certainly moments when the show feels like a haunted house attraction, but it is far more sophisticated than that. There is a proper story underneath the scares, with psychological tension, relationships and questions about what might actually be happening. The horror isn't simply something happening around the characters; it becomes increasingly personal.

And that is why the experience doesn't necessarily end when the curtain falls.

There is something deeply unsettling about walking out of the theatre afterwards and remembering that the house you have just been watching looked so real. The sounds, the darkness and the things you have seen – or think you have seen – stay with you.

In fact, you might want to keep the lights on when you get home.

Paranormal Activity is an incredible and genuinely unique theatrical experience. It is clever, brilliantly staged, technically astonishing and, at times, seriously frightening.

If you enjoy horror and want something more immersive than simply sitting back and watching a film, hold your nerve and see this in the theatre.

Just don't blame me if you struggle to sleep afterwards.

Photo Gallery