Inside the wire: The Book of Horror - Volume II: Tales of the Damned

After last’s years success, 4AM Productions present their now annual horror spectacular which promises to be even bigger and better than last year.

Halloween means a lot to people these days! For some it means big parties, for others it’s elaborate costumes, for others it’s scary movies. For us, well, it’s a mix of all of these. When halloween approaches, we know the Book of Horror is ready to be opened again. Last year we put it on for the first time and it was a huge success and it was a no brainer after that to make it an annual event. For those who don’t know, it’s 6 horror themed short plays in 1 night! All written/adapted and directed by our creative team. The inspiration came last year, I’d seen the stocking fillers Christmas show at the royal court which was 5-6 short plays in a night, all Christmas themed and all featuring the same group of actors. Then one of the team, our executive producer, Phil Halfpenny discussed the idea of doing a Halloween-themed show and having short plays in a night and from there the idea was born.

It’s an evening for horror fans but even if horror isn’t your thing, this is still something to watch. It will have just about everything in it including a little mix of madness which we all love. Phil himself plays The Curator, the host and compere of the evening with his faithful minion with him (played with gusto by Luke Bennet). It’s essentially his Book of Horror that he opens up once a year and tells us all 6 new tales. The plays themselves are mostly original works that have been crafted up and we believe there is an excellent mix of original and adapted classics for everyone to enjoy. As always the casting process was incredibly hard with so many talented people coming to audition. Liverpool has so much talent it was hard and we had so many people to talk to but we narrowed it down to a small group who all appeared in different plays in the night.

First we have “Shortbread” written and directed by Rachel Louise Clark & Sab Muthari, fresh off their success together penning ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us. Shortbread is a dark horror comedy, 3 friends go off on a stag weekend in North Berwick, a small coastal town in Scotland. There, they read about an old folklore about a witch who preys on outsiders. What could all go wrong on those highlands? And who is Betzy the Dinosaur?

Starring: Sab Muthari, Adam Titchmarsh, Paul Philip Ryan, Emily Guilfoyle

Then we have “Zombie Theory”, written and directed by Luke Bennet. After hours in a private laboratory, Kate meets something mechanical and inhuman and is faced with a question: If it looks like a person and acts like a person and thinks like a person…. Is it one?

Starring: Faye Bennett, Rory Gillan, Dan Morrisey and Leo Hewitson

We also have “The Tell-Tale-Heart” written by Victoria Loftus and directed by Luke Bennet.

We’ve all been a little weirded out by someone before. We’ve all gotten uncomfortable. We’ve all murdered an old man and chopped him ip and buried him and can still hear his heartbeat. Right?

Starring: Emily Guilfoyle, Adam Titchmarsh, Sab Muthari, Phil Halfpenny, Rachel Louise Clark

“Time Enough At Last” is a modern adaptation of an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ by Phil Halfpenny with a real deep look at life. This extraordinary tale is brought to the stage. One man seeks salvation in the rubble of a ruined world.

Starring: Adam Titchmarsh, Faye Bennett, Leo Hewitston & Rachel Louise Clark

“Decay” is an original concept horror also by Phil Halfpenny. A man lives alone, or so he thinks. Strange things begin to happen, objects move from where they were and he starts forgetting things he knows he knew before and who, or what is that standing over his bed at night??

Starring: Leo Hewitson and Agnes Vesterback

And finally, we have “Thriller” written and directed by Sab Muthari & Rachel Louise Clark again. It’s a tribute to the iconic music video and the iconic artist behind it. We go back in time to 1983, Michael Jackson is on top of the world and about to become a superstar. He strives for perfection on his latest project and calls in acclaimed horror director John Landis in to help. But is there more going on? Reports of killings in the woods, howls at night. This is the story you never knew.

Starring: Sab Muthari, Agnes Vesterback, Paul Philip Ryan, Faye Bennett and Dan Morrissey.

Dan Morrissey is also our amazing choreographer as well, putting together a dance spectacle together that is not to be missed! (Do I really need to say which dance?!)

To make things even bigger, we are now hosting a Halloween Party like no other. It’s called The Monster Ball and will take place on Saturday 26th October at 8:30PM at the Caledonia all night. It’s ticket only and it’s going to be INCREDIBLE. Competitions, quizzes, games, karaoke and much more including themed halloween cocktails!! If you buy a ticket to ANY performance, you will gain free entry to the monster ball. Even if you just want to attend the halloween ball, you can still do for just £5!!

This is one of the events of the year and we cannot wait to bring it to life!

Dates: 23rd - 26th October

Venue: Hope Street Theatre

Time: 7:30PM (Saturday 26th show is at 5PM)

Tickets for book of horror: https://shorturl.at/Qe9pB

Tickets for the monster ball: https://www.likemindedproductions.co.uk/store/backend/a-monster-ball