Theatre Royal, Windsor – until 22nd October 2022
Reviewed by Joanna Huggett
5*****
We had the pleasure of watching the opening night of ‘Darker Shores’ written by Michael Punter, a thought provoking ghost story that we continued to discuss well into the following evening.
The play switches between the Covent Garden offices of Professor Gabriel Stokes, an American spiritualist played by Maxwell Caulfield and the bedroom of an East Sussex sea house in which Tom Beauregard stayed at, played by Michael Praed. Beauregard recounts the story of his visit last Christmas, or should I say ‘Advent’, in which he enlists the support of Stokes to prove or disprove the existence of ghosts. They both re-visit the sea house the following December to bring the matter to a resolution, no matter what the consequences would be. Their experiences at the house further complicated by the mysterious involvements of Mrs Hinchcliffe the house-keeper played by Juliet Mills and her maid Florence Kennedy played by Chipo Kureya.
To say any more about the story would be spoiling it for you, but the excellent stage production, haunting but hardly background sound effects and eerie lighting takes you directly to the scene of the encounter and won’t release you until the story is complete.
A wonderful cast, some extraordinary acting, a superb production, and an altogether enjoyable evening in Windsor, my only complaint is that now we know how it ends, we don’t need to see it again!!!