Mag North attended one of the first performances of Paranormal Activity world premier at the Leeds Playhouse - and under strict instructions there are absolutely no spoilers in this piece.
The world premiere of the stage adaptation of the cult horror film Paranormal Activity is delivering a uniquely unsettling theatrical experience in Leeds.
It’s a show that brings together unique theatrical experience. Felix Barrett, the creative mind behind immersive theatre giants Punchdrunk is the director. And it is written by acclaimed playwright Levi Holloway.
Together, they have created a show that is ominously absorbing - driven by a deep sense of foreboding on stage. An epic and looming, sinister soundtrack punctuates the darkness.
Felix Barrett uses this sense of sound and space to make very most of the communal dread that live theatre has the unique power to deliver. He explained: “The real challenge of this piece, and what we’re actively striving to achieve, is getting that collective sense of fear when there’s an awful lot of people in one space. You get a ricochet when one person feels the fear that can really spread. Mass hysteria is a potent thing!”
Is there an inbuilt safety net in experiencing horror on stage? In this story people can fully engage with the terror, living vicariously through the characters, in the knowledge that you can leave it behind after the final bows. This is a very different type of storytelling for Felix, who made his name delivering large-scale and ambitious immersive productions away from theatres and traditional stages.
He said: “With this piece, we really looked at the qualities that came from the movie itself, where the advertising campaign was actually just the audience’s response. It’s one of shock and awe, but is also completely restrained.
“Our piece really is the ultimate slow burn; an exponential crescendo. It’s about creeping dread rather than shocks; about getting under your skin so the hairs are sticking up on the back of your neck. It’s not about shlock or gore, it is about things that are just on the other side that we can’t quite locate.”
That sense of hidden fear is a reminder that the Mag North team are under strict instructions not to share any spoilers about this highly anticipated show. But it is certainly an amazing thing for the region to host this world premiere - the Hollywood heft of the films meaning it is the type of production that could transfer stateside.
But the story and production stands on its own two feet, regardless of the audience’s understanding of the source material. It is this sense of creeping fear that makes horror on stage so magnetic for audiences.
Levi Holloway, said: “I think it’s because a veneer of civility is stripped away when you’re experiencing something in the horror space. There’s something thrilling about meeting that part of yourself and asking, what would I do? How would I negotiate that?”
Is this the real heart of horror? Making audiences think differently about themselves and their ability to overcome deep rooted fears?
Levi added: “I think there’s something about meeting the truth of who you are in extreme circumstances that is very compelling. Horror is communal. We understand each other when we are all seeing something that’s very difficult to watch.”
Paranormal Activity warps the audience’s expectations - it’s a relatable world on stage but one that has uneasy sense of dread.
“It would be easy for us to be front-footed about the horror, but that’s not really our intent,” said Levi.
“This is a human piece, and horror is the tool that we’re using to get our audience to lean forward, experience some of the most vulnerable, frightening parts of what it is to be in a marriage, to be human.”
According to Levi, the play “sits on the bones” of the films, but works as a standalone piece of storytelling, adding new layers of terror on stage at the famous Leeds Playhouse.
“The benefit of having an audience watching a live piece of theatre that’s steeped in the horror genre is the feeling of community that you build,” he explained.
“It’s a mutual experience both from the stage and toward the stage. There’s also something really endearing about everyone clutching each other ready to take the next breath.”
And isn’t that what’s so exciting about new horror writing? People sharing the same space, sharing the same storyworld - and knowing that our deepest fears might be shared too.
Tickets for Paranormal Activity are available HERE
