Review: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, Ambassadors Theatre - Oct 2026
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
Horror hits differently when it’s happening right in front of you. A thrilling, incredibly well-made and surprisingly scary night at the theatre.
Following on from the popular film franchise, the stage show doesn’t reenact any of the films, but instead uses the basic concept and creates an entirely new story, and dare we say, it works even better than the films! After its original highly successful West End run, the production has returned to the Ambassadors Theatre, alongside a UK and Ireland tour.
From the moment you enter the theatre, it feels like this will be something different. The curtains are closed, so you can’t see the set, and then suddenly the theatre goes completely dark. Music starts playing, which gradually gets louder and louder, before a voice comes over the sound system talking about hauntings, and asking the audience to participate in mind games. It’s a really effective way of setting the tone, raising tensions early on before the curtains finally open and you get your first look at the set.
The set, designed by Fly Davis, is brilliant. It is a very detailed, lived-in house spread across two levels, with different rooms that gradually become familiar. Having everything on two floors works particularly well because there are times when can be characters upstairs and downstairs at the same time, and many times you don’t quite know where to look because so much is happening. Visually, it is very pleasing.
Another very clever and well thought out detail is the consideration of the windows and the lighting. Anna Watson, the lighting designer, creates the sense of what time of day it is from the light outside, and details of including car headlights passing by makes the house feel like a real place rather than just a stage set.
The scene transitions are also well done and on theme. These will often follow a dramatic moment or a revelation will come out, and suddenly everything goes pitch black. Intense music starts playing and audiences sit there shaking from what they have just witnessed and wondering what will happen next, and then when the lights come back up, things have changed. Characters may move, the room might look slightly different or something might have been added or removed. This simple principle is very effective.
The main couple are played by Ty Fanning as James and Ami Okumura Jones as Lou. They are an excellent pairing and are very believable as a younger couple who recently moved to the UK from Chicago and are trying to find their feet. Their relationship feels natural, moving effortlessly between playful moments, tension and fear. Fanning, in particular, brings lots of little details to the character through his mannerisms and expressions, which makes James feel like a real person rather than just a character in a horror show. They are joined by Kirsty Bushell and Pippa Winslow, who are also very good, with Winslow especially having a scene that is genuinely one of the creepiest moments of the show.
Getting horror right on stage is incredibly difficult. It can very easily become a bit cringey, or rely on cheap jump scares or laughs and obvious tricks. Paranormal Activity avoids this surprisingly well. Throughout the show, the entire audience remain completely tense, and react to many of the jumpy moments together, which creates a nice communal feel. The show makes you almost forget that you are sat in a theatre watching actors and effects. Audiences are left wondering, How on earth did they do that? Things happen right in front of you, and because this is live theatre, rather than film editing, it makes it feel even more unsettling. There are many unexpected moments, revelations and secrets that gradually come out, and several points where as an audience member you are sat on the edge of my seat thinking scared and engrossed.
Towards the end, a lot does happen in a small space of time, with revelations and explanations feeling quite packed together. Some of these developments might work better if spread out a bit more or revealed more slowly, but it does work well to heighten tensions right at the end.
This is an extremely polished, brilliantly staged and genuinely scary production. The combination of the set, sound, lighting, performances and illusions makes this one of the strongest horror productions to have graced London theatres. This is also the kind of that would be great to see again, partly because there is so much going on and it is easy to miss details the first time around.
If you like horror, this is a guaranteed treat. And even for those who are usual horror fans, there is still a lot to enjoy and appreciate. Paranormal Activity is a really clever example of how theatre can make you feel a certain way and achieve things that film can’t always.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Alexandra Tullah
