‘More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight’ touring show on its way to Cambridge

Following the success of the autumn 2023 tour of Ghost Stories by Candlelight, East of England production company HighTide is bringing more of them to the region, with a Cambridge stop in late October.

More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight involves the bringing to life of four ghost stories, written especially for the tour by Tassa Deparis, James McDermott, Eloise Pennycott, and Aisha Zia.

Norwich-based writer James McDermott is also a lecturer in scriptwriting at the University of East Anglia (UEA), from where he graduated with an MA (Distinction) in scriptwriting in 2016 – and from where he chatted to the Cambridge Independent (he was in the middle of marking UEA scripts when we spoke).

“Four East of England writers have been commissioned to write four ghost stories,” explains James, who also graduated from UEA with a First Class BA honours degree in scriptwriting and performance in 2015.

“And those four ghost stories are being performed together as part of More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight, which is going to tour the East of England in autumn, before going to Shakespeare’s Globe, the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, over Halloween weekend.”

James continues: “Each of those ghost stories are set in different parts of the East of England, often parts that are charged with meaning or personal resonance for the writers.

“So I’ve set mine in Salthouse, in North Norfolk, which is where my monologue will unfold.”

The shows are taking place in non-traditional venues, harking back to the tradition of storytelling in pubs, village halls and other community hubs.

Taking inspiration from the ghost stories of old, this contemporary production – made in association with regional touring theatre company Eastern Angles, Harlow Playhouse, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, and Shakespeare’s Globe – brings the genre into the modern age, with settings that represent the writers’ own connections to the East of England.

These range from urban Cambridge to the Essex saltmarsh, and leafy Suffolk villages to the bracing North Norfolk coast.

The stories will be brought to life, James notes, by two “actor-musicians”.

He adds: “The whole thing will be lit with candles, some of them it will be artificial, depending on the venue we’re in, but two actor-musicians will play live music to create atmosphere and then they will perform the pieces together.”

The writers are scheduled to make appearances at some of the shows, and there will be some where they discuss their work – and take questions – after the performance.

“I know I’m doing one of those at Norwich Writer’s Centre,” says James, who reveals that he would love to write a sitcom set in North Norfolk one day.

“There might well be one in Cambridge, but I know I’m not doing that one. Another writer might be...”

As well as stories and plays, James is a successful poet – his poetry collections include Wild Life, which was shortlisted for The East Anglian Book Award 2023 – and he has also written a number of episodes of EastEnders and audio plays for BBC Radio 4.

Has he always enjoyed writing ghost stories?

“I’m a huge Doctor Who fan,” he replies, “and have always been drawn to writing about sci-fi and what we’re scared of. I think Doctor Who is a great way to talk about what we’re scared of.

“And so I really wanted to write a ghost story because I’d never written in that genre, but I’ve grown up loving sci-fi and Doctor Who.”

Without giving too much away, James reveals that his ghost story was ‘inspired’ by a “really big bereavement in my life in the advent of Covid, two years ago”.

He elaborates: “Writing a ghost story about it felt like a really great vehicle for which to explore grief – and there’s things I can’t say now to that person I lost. So that’s why I was really drawn to writing a ghost story.”

James notes that “so many places in East Anglia have either got literary connections, or a great deal of folklore attached to them”.

He adds: “With all four pieces, we really worked with HighTide to study the craft of ghost stories and make sure we’re incorporating those elements into our pieces.

“So we really hope we’ve written something that is spooky and unsettling and suspenseful.”

Find out if the writers have succeeded in their goal when More…Ghost Stories by Candlelight comes to the Old Divinity Hall in Cambridge on Saturday, 26 October.

Tickets, priced £13-£15, are available from hightide.org.uk. For more on James McDermott, go to jamesmcdermottwriter.weebly.com.