Date Night, But Make It Paranormal (Activity)

It’s spooky season so let’s make it a date night to see Paranormal Activity at the Ambassador Theatre. 

When your husband loves spooky season, an October date night was never going to involve a quiet dinner and an early night. So, in the spirit of embracing all things creepy, we swapped our usual plans for an evening at the theatre.

What are we seeing? Paranormal Activity at the Ambassador Theatre.

Romantic? Debatable.
Memorable? Absolutely.

A little disclaimer before we begin: I am not a fan of the Paranormal Activity film franchise. That said, I was genuinely intrigued. How do you take something built around things going bump in the night and make it work on stage, in front of a live audience?

Horror is notoriously difficult to pull off in theatre. There are exceptions, of course. Stranger Things was simply brilliant, with visual effects that made you wonder how on earth they were doing it live. While I may have arrived as a Paranormal Activity sceptic, I was curious to see what the stage version had up its sleeve.

Paranormal Activity Goes to London

The story follows American couple James and Lou, who swap Chicago for London in search of a fresh start. James is your upbeat, All-American optimist who tends to see the best in people. Lou is more complicated: spirited and sharp, but carrying the weight of a troubled past. Together, they settle into life in London. They joke about half-bath screens, laundry drying on radiators and all the little quirks of British living. Yes, even we can relate!

The action unfolds almost entirely inside their two-storey London townhouse, which gives the whole production an intimate, slightly claustrophobic feel. James and Lou are at the heart of the story, with appearances from James’s rather overbearing mother, Carolanne, and Ms Cotgrave, a paranormal investigator.

They may have moved thousands of miles to escape their past. But, as anyone who has ever watched a horror film knows, the past has an annoying habit of following you.

And then things start to get… strange.

I won’t say much more because spoilers would absolutely ruin the fun. The production itself asks audiences to “hold your tongue.” That’s probably for the best.

Paranormal Activity pulls out plenty of theatrical tricks: pitch-black moments, shadows, optical illusions, suspenseful sound and the inevitable jump scares. There were definitely moments when I questioned why I had willingly agreed to this date night. If you’re a fan of the films, love spooky season, or a different kind of date night, Paranormal Activity is definitely one to experience.