Review: SELECTING A GHOST, Stanley Arts Centre

“Goresthorpe Grange is not provided with a ghost”

Selecting a Ghost, a site-specific show at the Stanely Arts Centre, is based on the Arthur Conan Doyle short story of the same name, in which Silas and Matilda D’Odds (Edward Bennett and Jade Williams, respectively) of Goresthorpe Grange decide that they want a ghost to find its resting place in their new home.

Audience members have been welcomed to the home of the D’Odds to learn more about their hunt for a haunt in this promenade-style performance. The show is directed and created by Phil Cheadle, who adapted the original short story to fit a theatrical work. The set, designed by Elliot Squire, is spread throughout the Arts Centre complex, with audience members and performers going up and down stairs and around the site to see the rooms of Goresthorpe Grange.

One of the highlights of Selecting a Ghost is how it uses the space of the Stanley Arts Centre to create the location. We follow Silas and Matilda around the home, taking in the large spaces that the D’Odds hope will soon be filled by a spirit. The site is perfect for the story, as one can definitely imagine spirits haunting the Grade II Edwardian complex.

In one particular moment, I was selected as one of two audience members to follow Matilda in pursuit of what she and Silas believe is a ghost. Even with just two people watching her, Williams gives an incredible performance, and the immersion continues as there has been sound designed (Harry Miller) specifically for the cramped space between the walls. 

During the climax of the show, known as the “Ghost Selection Ceremony,” Silas is visited by a range of spirits who hope to be chosen to haunt Goresthorpe Grange. The spirits are brought to life (or, in this situation, afterlife) by local hip hop company BirdGang Ltd, made up of Kenji “TENGU’ Matsunaga, Laura “STARLING” Braid, Ben Ajose-Cutting and Nora Nouche Hoffmann. As each of them dance around the space, a disembodied voice echoes, quoting nearly word-for-word the way in which each ghost introduces themself to Silas. After showing off his comedy skills for most of the show, this scene is the opportunity for Bennett to give a more physical performance, reacting to the other world appearing around him. 

While the performers of BirdGang Ltd are talented and their interpretations of the different ghosts, guided by Movement Architect Kendra Kro Horsburgh are creative, the sudden switch from Gothic horror and humour to hip hop is a startling one. The change is so drastic that I felt myself being pulled out of the immersiveness that had been established in the first half of the show, which is a shame as the promenade aspects of the performance were fantastic. Had there been some signs of the upcoming genre change, like some distant hiphop music, it might have been easier to accept. 

Selecting a Ghost is a fantastic example of a site-specific performance with some brilliant actors that struggles to combine the genres of horror and hip hop to make for a fully cohesive show. Bennett and Williams, along with BirdGang Ltd, bring their all to their characters to life in a world that has been built for them

Selecting a Ghost ran from 6 to 9 November at Stanley Arts Centre as a part of their Days of the Dead Festival.

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