"This spooky tale gets smarter and scarier as the night goes on, cleverly entwining local history and folklore... The tension is overwhelming. The tales became tangible, and we’re cowering every time the lights get low"
Kate Wyver

The Guardian

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"Eerie tales told with relish...Entertaining and ominous."
Dave Fargnoli

The Stage

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"Delivers its sparing shocks well and generates a heady atmosphere of suspense... The hair stirred on my scalp several times..."
Nick Curtis
Evening Standard

"Spine-chilling folklore from Guernsey's blood-drenched history makes for an unsettling evening of ghost stories at Park Theatre...Best not to go alone"
Dave Winskill

Ham & High

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Maybe we’re all haunted.

By the past.

By regret.

By fear.

By things that have embedded themselves deep within us. A kind of trauma, that we relive. As we ‘see’ these events unfold, again and again, it’s quite clear that ghosts are very real.

When Darkness Falls is a spine-chilling new play about the power of stories. Perhaps most importantly, the ones we tell ourselves.

When Darkness Falls will open at Park Theatre, London in August 2021. Following this, it will embark on a UK National Tour.

On the small island of Guernsey, local history teacher John Blondel runs the Island’s only Historical Society.

Tonight, as part of the Society’s weekly vlog, a young writer who has been researching the island’s mysterious and often frightening folklore, has been invited to give a talk.

As his seemingly innocent stories unfold – many of which are based on true events – it isn’t long before they reveal dark pasts, disturbing truths and unforgettable terrors.

Cast

Will Barton
JOHN BLONDEL

Will Barton’s most recent theatre includes the title role in The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson (Park Theatre & National Tour), The Libertine (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and Toast (Park Theatre and New York).  He also played Boris Johnson in the 2017 BBC 2 drama Theresa V Boris.  Other television includes A Confession, Vanity Fair and two series of How Do You Want Me?

Alex Phelps
THE SPEAKER*

Training: Manchester School of Theatre

Theatre credits: Twelfth Night, Hamlet (Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre);  The Vertical Hour, Elektra, The Rivals (Theatre by The Lake); Hamlet (Changeling Theatre Co); Macbeth (Omnibus, Clapham); Journey’s End (MESH Theatre Co, Belgium); Things We Want (Hope Mill Manchester); Mother Courage and Her Children (Library Theatre, Manchester)

TV Credits: Romeo and Juliet (BBC); Justin’s House, series 5 (BBC); Twas the night before Christmas (BBC)

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*Park Theatre, Winchester & Mast only

James McClelland
ALTERNATE* JOHN / THE SPEAKER
*Will play the role of The Speaker in Guildford

Training: RADA.

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James stars In Danny Boyle’s Creation Stories Playing Noel Gallagher, Currently On Sky and in Cinemas Worldwide. 

Theatre Credits: The Long Bones (White Bear Theatre), One Scotch (Blank Tin Productions, Theatre N16), The Fall of The House Of Usher (The Brockley Jack), Who The F*CK Is Dr Deathzo (G-Live), C’est La Vie (Canal Theatre), Hitman (Hen & Chickens Theatre), Rat In A Box (Tristan Bates Theatre), Time To Fly Solo (Bread & Roses Theatre).

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TV Credits: 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover, England and The Road To Modernity

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Short Film: Devoted, Paper Stains, Double Vision, Room 55.

Creative Team

                            Written by

Directed  by

      Set Design by

Magic & Illusion Design by

Lighting Design by

Sound Design by

PR

Marketing

Producers

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PAUL MORRISSEY & JAMES MILTON

PAUL MORRISSEY

JUSTIN WILLIAMS

JOHN BULLEID

BETHANY GUPWELL

DANIEL HIGGOTT

AMANDA MALPASS (AMPR)

DRESSING ROOM 5

PAUL MORRISSEY, CHRIS WHEELER & MOLLY MORRIS, GLYNIS HENDERSON, JASON HAIGH-ELLERY, BEV RAGALOV & DAWN SMALBERG, RICHARD WINKLER and ALAN SHORR

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