Bridgnorth Ghost Walk available on DVD and Amazon Prime
After weeks of planning and preparation, theatre fans will be taken on a ghostly tour of a town – all from the comfort of their own homes.
Bridgnorth Theatre on the Steps has produced its very own DVD, using a grant from the government to cover the outlay, while the town council also provided £1,000 towards the costs.
The film is being sent out to those who have ordered a copy tomorrow, and it is hoped it will be available on Amazon Prime toward the end of this week or early next week.
Copies of the DVD will also be on sale from the theatre’s box office, in the town centre, on Friday and Saturday.
As part of efforts to promote the production, actors will be donning their ghostly attire and taking to the streets of the town on Saturday. Faced with the cancellation of one of its most popular events, the theatre came up with an alternative that would be available to audiences across the world.
The Theatre on the Steps organises the Bridgnorth Ghost Walk annually, which attracts packed audiences and visitors from across the country.
Social distancing requirements meant the show was going to be impossible to produce this year so instead the theatre arranged its own ghost tour film, which is being sent out on DVD.
The film takes the perspective of the viewer and tours the town where ‘ghosts’ appear and tell their stories.
The theatre’s artistic director, Ian Reddihough, said the film was the best alternative when faced with the difficulties of hosting the live tours.
He said: “We looked at every which way we could to do it, whether we could do it with smaller groups, but to do that would take too long and because some of the locations are very small it is not easy to socially distance.
Climax
“So when we finally decided it would not be practical to do we decided to do the film, which we did in record time because we did not want to disappoint our audience. It also gives us the chance to get it to a wider audience.”
Mr Reddihough said the film was ‘spine tingling’ rather than ‘scary’, and added everyone involved was thoroughly pleased with the finished product.
There are 13 actors in the film, including Adam Green, the BBC Radio Shropshire presenter. Mr Reddihough said: “With this the camera is you walking around the deserted town at night and every corner you go round there’s an apparition, which tells you the story of their demise.
“The climax is two brand new stories – one, the doctor, is someone frequently seen on the steps outside the theatre doors, wearing a long coat and black hat looking like he is trying to get in. So we have dramatised those stories to provide a five to 10-minute film that brings it to a heart rending end.
“The people who have seen it say it is quite scary but not in a frightening sense. It is not going to give you nightmares, but it will put a chill down your spine.”
Mr Reddihough said that the production had been something they had considered in the past, but the impact of the pandemic had forced their hand.
He said: “It is something we have though about doing over the years but it has never really come to fruition.”
