Review: UNCANNY: I KNOW WHAT I SAW, Theatre Royal Drury Lane and On Tour

Back in 2021, Danny Robins spoke to the void in the shed in his garden asking “Do ghosts exist?”. The world of paranormal podcasts never was the same. People were quick to join in online, sending reports and building a network of experiences, lifting the series to cult media. Robins went on to write the astoundingly successful celebrity bait 2:22 A Ghost Story and produce many more seasons of the spooky pod for the BBC before turning them into live shows and serialised television.

The experts who uphold or shut down the theories on his broadcast follow him on stage to give a slight sense of credibility to the analyses, but the whole thing remains sheer entertainment. Just like their first show, The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny features a few delightful jump-scares, but the production value has increased remarkably since then. 

After a rockstar entrance sporting his typical red raincoat, Robins is relentlessly amusing. A charismatic, gifted storyteller, he maintains a humorous attitude all the way through. He’s joined by Ciarán O’Keefe and Evelyn Hollow, frequent collaborators and spokespeople for the sceptical and believer gangs, respectively. The audience gets involved straight away, with Robins encouraging us to use the QR codes plastered around the theatre to share our own inexplicable incidents.

There’s no feeling of snobbery or superiority. Do you feel like you have a poltergeist in the house or that your deceased nan has been knocking on your window nightly? Hollow is ready to back you up while O’Keefe does everything in his power to find a realistic and logical solution to the issue. Robins mostly serves as referee - it’s a fun dynamic. They all employ elements of parapsychology and pseudoscience to support their own arguments, adding a level of legitimate seriousness that bolsters the credulity of the believers and makes the eyes of the sceptics roll. Regardless of your stance, it’s an evening of harmless distraction that will put the seed of suspicion in the ear of the most hardcore realist. 

While we might scoff at the testimonies, it’s crucial to keep in mind that those individuals actually went through a really traumatic event. Whether we believe in spectres or not, what they experienced was real to them. This deep respect for the human factor in all the stories we hear is shared by everyone on stage (even O’Keefe never negates the witnesses’ fear). Robins regales the crowd with a case per act, leaving enough time for them to engage and discuss on both sides of the break. He’s funny even when the twists have a sudden dark turn.

It’s a show that will please the fans and bait the curious. The suspense rises and falls in a steady tide across the two hours plus interval, making it a quick, enthralling journey. Does it prove that the paranormal exists? Obviously not. Is it a thrilling night out that will tickle your rational senses and make you rethink that weird thud you keep hearing in your loft? Oh, yes.

Uncanny is touring the UK until late July.

Photo credit: Piers Foley

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