The LONDON HORROR FESTIVAL is Back to Scare 2017
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 18, 2017
The London Horror Festival is back for a 7th terrifying year to thrill and chill audiences for 3 jam packed weeks this Halloween season. The UK's original and largest festival of live horror performance returns to the Old Red Lion Theatre following the great success of 2016.
With official sponsorship from Hobgoblin, 'the unofficial beer of Halloween', and horror artist Jessica F. Holt, this annual celebration of the horror genre is going strong and 2017 is their biggest line-up yet with an eclectic programme of 23 different shows on offer.
The London Horror Festival works to promote new and innovative work in the arts, support London fringe theatre and is dedicated to providing a platform for artists and companies working in the horror genre. This year promises a mix of theatre, puppetry, cabaret, spoken word, body horror, clowning and comedy, featuring satanic cults, mummies, zombies, ghosts, vampires and the bodies of Frankenstein!
The festival kicks off with this year's playwriting competition winner staged by the Old Red Lion Theatre's very own Artistic Director Clive Judd, including special prizes from sponsor Hobgoblin, followed by horror panel quiz show 'What's the Bloody Question?' presented by UK Horror Scene's Tony Sands and the London Horror Society.
Shows to look forward to include 5 star horror comedy 'Curse of the Mummy' from Last Chance Saloon, fresh from their Edinburgh triumph, fellow 5 star fringe successes 'The Twins Macabre', The Underground Clown Club returning with the 5 star 'Knock Knock' followed by their new show 'Who's There?', and reworkings of classic tales including a comic adaptation H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' by Hidden Basement Productions and a gender-switched version of Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' by critically-acclaimed Evcol Entertainment.
For something different after dark, stay up late for an exclusive midnight performance of 'Felix Le Freak's Shockbuster Video' presented by the folks behind the wildly popular PopHorror cabaret club nights, then party the night away with their very own DJ until 3am.
Bursting with heaps of emerging talent, award-winning creatives and unique live performances - be sure you don't miss one of hottest events of Halloween!
London Horror Festival Playwriting Competition Winner
London Horror Festival in association with the Old Red Lion Theatre
Sunday 15th October, 19.00
£10 (£8 concession)
The LHF continues to support new writing and provide a platform for emerging talent in the horror theatre scene with their annual playwriting competition. Dozens of entries have been received from across the UK and the winning play will be performed on the opening night in a production directed by ORL Artistic Director, Clive Judd, with an exclusive prize for the winning entry from sponsor Hobgoblin, to celebrate the official launch of the London Horror Festival 2017.
What's the Bloody Question?
UK Horror Scene, the London Horror Society and the London Horror Festival
Sunday 15th October, 21.30
£10 (£8 for London Horror Society members)
Take your seats for the kitschest horror panel quiz show in town - What's The Bloody Question? Two teams pit their horror wits against each other in a battle of knowledge, skill, creativity and... well, probably play-doh actually.
Will London Horror Festival curator Katy Danbury beat her dastardly compatriot Chris Nials of The London Horror Society on home turf? Will the mysterious Questionomicon continue to vex our valiant competitors? Will presenter Tony Sands be able to harness the sheer power of the Dice Of Doom? Will The Score Keeper, Damon Rickard have enough fingers to calculate the points? All will be decided on the day of reckoning. Or as it's sometimes known to mere mortals... Sunday, 15th October at 9:30pm. JOIN US.
The Shadow Over Innsmouth
Hidden Basement Productions
Monday 16th - Wednesday 18th October, 19.00
£10 (£8 concession)
On a frankly tedious architectural tour of the coastline, Robert Olmstead happens across the ancient seaport of Innsmouth...
What he discovers there will threaten his life, test his will and shatter his sanity.
This two hander featuring original music, puppetry and physical theatre explores the complex and sometimes deadly relationship between man and fish.
The Service
Faceplant Theatre
Monday 16th - Tuesday 17th October, 21.30
£8 (£6 concession)
After years in hiding, the lone surviving siblings of an extreme religious cult are finally ready to tell their story.
Faceplant Theatre brings you a darkly comic, interactive horror; that will have you singing hymns, confessing sins, and consecrating the sacred cabbage.
Welcome, to The Service.
The Raven
Evcol Entertainment
Wednesday 18th - Thursday 19th October, 21.30
£10 (£8 concession)
This Edgar Allan Poe classic tale is a re-working of his original poem, with Lady Elizabeth Woodruff wrestling with melancholic thoughts after losing her lover; a love whose death she questions her own involvement with upon discovering that she and her estranged husband were themselves engaged in a passionate affair.
Curse of the Mummy
Last Chance Saloon
Thursday 19th - Friday 20th October, 19.00
Saturday 21st October, 15.00
£9 (£8 concession)
This classic tale is whipped up with mischievous musical mash-ups, outrageous humour and hilarious slapstick comedy. Follow Montana Jones and a love cursed Mummy to Egypt for a frenetic hour of riotous theatre adventure.
Felix Le Freak's Shockbuster Video
PopHorror
Friday 20th October, 21.30 & MIDNIGHT
Friday 27th October, 21.30
£10 (£8 concession)
Welcome to ShockBuster Video, where your dedicated clerk Felix wants you to browse their favourite aisle - Horror...
Revisit iconic horror through their warped mind as they meld classic horror clips with performance and an unexpected narrative. Just make sure you don't get locked in the store overnight....
The Twins Macabre: Slay
The Twins Macabre
Saturday 21st October, 19.00
Sunday 22nd October, 21.30
£10
As featured on BBC3 and BBC Radio 4, horror-comedy duo The Twins Macabre present 'Slay': a dark sketch cabaret. Born and raised in a travelling freak-circus, Maurice and Ivy are the U.K.'s most infamous 10-year-old killers. Dark comedy intertwined with vaudevillian theatrics, ghoulish music and just a touch of gore. 'Delightfully freaky.' -The Telegraph
The Men Who Made Frankenstein
Second Self
Saturday 21st October, 21.30
Sunday 22nd October, 19.00
£10 (£9 concession)
Would you willingly go to your execution if resurrection was guaranteed?
For the condemned Margaret and Edward the answer was easy. Now they're trapped in Doctor Frankenstein's cells, and their debt is due. The payment: healthy flesh!
A grim body horror exploring the origins of Frankenstein's body bits.
The Dead, Live
Scytheplays Ltd
Sunday 22nd October, 15.00
£12 (£8 concession)
Eerie, sardonic supernatural drama ("Literally haunting" - Starburst; "A wonderful performance" - Quays News; "Quite terrifying" - Fictionmaker).
Lawrence Dodds is a popular 'psychic' medium who knows he's a fake, but the world of Spirit may have a few shocks in store for him when someone unexpected attends one of his live shows.
Scare Slam
Blackshaw Theatre
Monday 23rd October, 19.00
£10 (£8 concession)
Lovers of scary stories, unite. Adding the fear factor to increasingly popular spoken word nights, storytellers from across the Horrorfest and beyond will share their worst (or should that be best?) nightmares at Blackshaw's third annual Scare Slam. Prepare yourself for a night of chilling tales from both sides of the line of veracity.
Waking the Walking Dead
Stack Ten Theatre
Monday 23rd - Wednesday 25th October, 21.30
£12 (£10 concession)
Survivors of the zombie apocalypse take shelter in an abandoned railway station. As the undead close in who will survive, what will be left of them, and who will end up as human hors d'oeuvres? Stack 10 Theatre return to the London Horror Festival following last year's The Wicker Hamper with an evening of laughter, blood and the undead.
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