The London Horror Festival is back for a 4th terrifying year to thrill and chill audiences for three jam packed weeks this October, in the run up to Halloween. The UK's biggest festival of live horror performance returns under new management; after sellout success with What Monsters Do at last years festival, Hidden Basement Productions this year take the reigns from Theatre of the Damned as the new producers of the London Horror Festival.
With official sponsorship from Ghost Stories - the terrifying smash hit west end show by Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson, and the British Library’s exhibition Terror & Wonder - The Gothic Imagination, this annual celebration of the horror genre is going strong, and 2014 is promising to be bigger and better than ever.
With an eclectic programme of 19 different shows including a mix of theatre, radio, film, cabaret, spoken word and comedy, the London Horror Festival works to promote new and innovative work in the arts, support London fringe theatre and is dedicated to providing a platform for artists and companies working in the horror genre.
The festival kicks off this year with a spectacular launch night, featuring the return of Stage Fright hosted by the Wireless Theatre Company and the London Horror Festival's first ever Horror Cabaret, on 12th October 2014 at The Lost Theatre, Vauxhall.
Back at it's official home - the Etcetera Theatre, in the heart of Camden, the festival gets off to a flying start with five-star horror comedy Frankenstein: Unbolted from Last Chance Saloon, fresh from their Edinburgh triumph, and ends with fellow fringe successes The Twins Macabre: Small Mediums at Large and a radical reworking of classic Marlowe text Fasutus from emerging company I’ll Be Right Back.
The rest of the 2014 programme features a mix of abstract theatre, psychological drama, ghost stories, and Lovecraftian improv, as well as the first annual 'Horror Shorts' competition and Mexican Day of the Dead inspired immersive horror art experience Las Maravillas: The Lost Souls of Mictlan from The Dreamery, at the Rose Lipman Building, Hackney.
News: London Horror Festival 2014
By Andreas Charalambous - 24th September 2014
12th October – 1st November 2014 (times vary)
The Lost Theatre, The Etcetera Theatre, The Rose Lipman Building
FULL SHOW LISTING
Stage Fright / London Horror Festival Launch Night
Wireless Theatre Company and the London Horror Festival
12th October, 19.30
The Lost Theatre
See Stage Fright 2014 performed and recorded live and a spectacular horror cabaret to celebrate the official launch of the London Horror Festival 2014.
Frankenstein: Unbolted
Last Chance Saloon
13th- 16th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Irresistible resurrection of Frankenstein, with twisted interpretations of pop songs, outrageous humour and a Monster who will charm your pants off - staged with Last Chance Saloon’s own brand of riotous theatre comedy.
Scream Queens Anonymous
Embers Productions
13th – 15th October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Six prominent horror movie heroines convene in an isolated house in the middle of the woods to hold a book club, and help recover from their past traumas. Original horror comedy from an all female cast.
Shakespeare in Hell
Brite Theater & So Potent Arts
16th – 18th October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
An all-female cast take you on an intense mash-up journey through Dante’s nine circles of Hell and back, where the most notorious and beloved characters from Shakespeare’s canon receive their punishment.
It’s Only a Matter of Time
Devil’s Picnic Theatre Company
17th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
New writing from the up and coming Devil’s Picnic Theatre Company. An abstract, conceptual and experimental play - with the show fitting in a single suitcase.
Mr Cushing & Mr Lee: The Gentlemen of Horror
My Own Private Submarine
18th – 19th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
The true story of a terribly nice friendship…The story of Hammer Horror legends Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, written by James Goss.
Unspeakable Tales
The Unnamed
19th October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
An hour of improvised cosmic horror inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.
The (Ill-Advised) Voyage of Leonard Roam
Cakes and Ale Theatre Company
20th – 22nd October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Leonard Roam is on a journey to the underworld to enlist the help of the one man everyone seems to be scared of…Original writing and music from Cakes and Ale Theatre Company.
Darker the Night
Sibling Productions
20th – 21st October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
When a young girl vanishes, two private detectives discover a link to a cult based in a forest. As they infiltrate the cult, they uncover alarming truths about the real purpose of the movement. Psychological thriller from acclaimed writer Eliza Power.
Ladybird
Frying Pan Alley
22nd – 23rd October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
The story of three women who are institutionalised to protect society and themselves. Psychological horror inspired by Lisa Appignanesi’s “Mad, Bad and Sad” and Shakespeare's text.
The Monster Hunters: LIVE
Newgate Productions
23rd October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Don your finest cravat, sharpen your stakes and prepare for a live recording of the comedy adventure podcast inspired by 1970s British Horror Films
Horror Shorts
Hidden Basement Productions
24th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Our first annual short horror film competition. An exclusive screening night of our short listed films with the overall winner announced on the night by special guest judge.
The End of the Line
Gimcrack Productions
24th -26th October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
This modern re-imagining of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher is a gothic and lyrical exploration of obsession, addiction and destiny.
Folklore Unto Himself
Sean Smith
25th – 26th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Sean Smith - mind reader, magician& hypnotist - invites you to an evening of folklore & magic.
Greywing House
Third Mind Productions
27th – 29th October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
From the makers of the award-winning Carnival of Crows, Greywing House is a one-woman storytelling show that will carry you out into deep, dark waters.
Peaceful
The Off-Off-Off Broadway Company
27th – 28th October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Ethel Charles lives alone in a rambling mansion, terrified of ghosts she believes to be hunting her. Inspired by the Winchester Mystery House, Peaceful is a critically-acclaimed chiller about guilt, faith and fear.
The Twins Macabre: Small Mediums at Large
The Twins Macabre
30th – 31st October, 19.30
The Etcetera Theatre
As seen on BBC3's Live at the Electric, child psychics Maurice and Ivy Macabre conjure damned souls through twisted sketches and songs. A deliciously dark horror-comedy sideshow that will kill you...
Faustus
I’ll Be Right Back
29th – 31st October, 21.30
The Etcetera Theatre
Faustus is a re-imagining of Christopher Marlowe’s classic story of demonic pacts and the struggle between good and evil for the possession of one man’s soul, set in the cut-throat corporate world.
Las Maravillas: The Lost Souls of Mictlan
The Dreamery
28th October – 1st November
Admission anytime 18.30 – 22.30
The Rose Lipman Building, Hackney
Navigate the nine levels of Mictlan, the Aztec Underworld, and face the formidable trials of life-after-death beneath the Earth. Indigenous and Mexican cultures unite in this immersive Day of the Dead inspired site specific experience.