Review: Haunting Julia at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
As the autumn nights draw in, there is no better venue than the atmospheric Wolverhampton Grand Theatre for a ghostly thriller and Alan Ayckbourn's, Haunting Julia delivers on every level, writes Alison Norton.
Described by the author as a psychological ghost story, this is the tale of child genius musician, Julia, who seemingly commits suicide, aged just 19. Her father struggles to understand why and so sets about finding what he considers to be the truth.
Star of stage and TV, Duncan Preston as Julia's father, Joe, exudes his natural style, while Heartbeat actor Joe McFadden as ex-boyfriend Andy is convincingly disbelieving.
However, despite Ayckbourn's tendency to write long and often laborious solo speeches, Richard O'Callaghan's delivery of the role of Ken Chase steals the show, as he switches from witty janitor to deceptive psychic with complete conviction.
Without giving too much away, the first act is tame enough, bar a couple of surprises, although the underlying tension of the piece is evident throughout, but from then on the completely silent pauses when you could hear a pin drop and the constant fear of the unknown makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
Haunting Julia, does not begin to compare to Susan Hill's, The Woman in Black, but is still an exceptionally tense drama for lovers of dark tales in the lead up to Halloween and the twist at the end renders it unmissable.
Runs until Saturday.