London's Horror Festival
Frights aren’t just for film
While horror films are booming, London’s first Horror Festival is showing the genre works just as well on the stage.
London Horror Festival is an independent festival of horror, mixing theatre, comedy, music and performance, at the Courtyard Theatre in East London.
It’s publicity material eerily suggests that “The dead shall rise, the guilty will batten on the innocent and the people in the front rows may leave splattered in gore.”
The Grand Guignol. Credit: Theatre of the Damned
It’s publicity material eerily suggests that “The dead shall rise, the guilty will batten on the innocent and the people in the front rows may leave splattered in gore.”
Bloody successful
These days, horror films seem to be popping up quicker than Zombies. The last decade saw a significant increase in the gross receipts for by horror films at the box office - a market share increase of 2.85 percent in 1995 to 5.96 percent in 2006 (source: www.the-numbers.com),
And this weekend, Paranormal Activity 3 is the big horror release this Halloween, excluding the next instalment of the Twilight saga. It’s taken over $20 million at the US box office.
To date, the only chances for chilling cultural encounters were in the cinema. Film 4 Frightfest, billed as the Home of Horror, has been showing frightening films for 12 years now.
These days, horror films seem to be popping up quicker than Zombies. The last decade saw a significant increase in the gross receipts for by horror films at the box office - a market share increase of 2.85 percent in 1995 to 5.96 percent in 2006 (source: www.the-numbers.com),
And this weekend, Paranormal Activity 3 is the big horror release this Halloween, excluding the next instalment of the Twilight saga. It’s taken over $20 million at the US box office.
To date, the only chances for chilling cultural encounters were in the cinema. Film 4 Frightfest, billed as the Home of Horror, has been showing frightening films for 12 years now.
Dead thrilling
But the Horror Festival shows that the stage can be just as spinetingling. There’s enough evidence for this in our commercial theatres in the West End, where Ghost Stories had a long run after being billed as “The World’s First Horror Play”.
In reality, it’s not even the first horror play in London. The Woman In Black, which is genuinely fearsome, has been frightening audiences since 1989.
So with the horror festival and successful West End runs, there’s plenty to show that horror isn’t just for film. Sleep tight.
But the Horror Festival shows that the stage can be just as spinetingling. There’s enough evidence for this in our commercial theatres in the West End, where Ghost Stories had a long run after being billed as “The World’s First Horror Play”.
In reality, it’s not even the first horror play in London. The Woman In Black, which is genuinely fearsome, has been frightening audiences since 1989.
So with the horror festival and successful West End runs, there’s plenty to show that horror isn’t just for film. Sleep tight.
Mon, 31.10.2011
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