CLASSIC GHOST STORY SET TO HIT THE STAGE AT CHESTER THEATRE

A local theatre company is set to return to the stage in Chester this autumn with a chilling ghost story written by one the UK's most popular playwrights.

Theatre company Against The Grain are set to stage 'Haunting Julia' by celebrated playwright Alan Ayckbourn in the intimate surroundings of The Salisbury Studio at Chester Little Theatre from Wednesday 8^th - Saturday 11^th October at 7.30pm, with a Matinee performance on Saturday 11th October at 2.30pm. The play will be directed for Against The Grain by Marian Newman and presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French. 

'Haunting Julia' follows on from Against The Grain's sell out production of 'Hansard' at Chester Little Theatre last October, and 'Frank' and 'A Delicate Balance' at St Mary's Creative Space earlier this year.

Written by Alan Ayckbourn in 1994, 'Haunting Julia' tells the story of Joe who, twelve years after his daughter, Julia, died, has turned the student house in which she spent her last eighteen months into a museum. Dubbed 'little Miss Mozart' by the media, Julia was a child prodigy who created over 100 musical compositions in her short life. Joe invites her ex boyfriend, Andy, and a psychic, Ken, to her student bedroom in an attempt to find answers as to how and why Julia died. Does Andy know more than he is telling and is Ken all he claims to be? And is it only Julia herself who can reach out to Joe? 'Haunting Julia' is a hair-raising, spooky tale for a chilly October evening.

The play will feature Mark Newman (Hansard, Frank,) as Joe, Stuart Evans (Frank, A Delicate Balance) as Andy and Simon Phillips (A Delicate Balance) as Ken. All three were last seen on stage together in Against The Grain's highly acclaimed 2023 production of the Frank McGuiness hostage drama 'Someone Who'll Watch Over Me'. 

Speaking about staging 'Haunting Julia' at Chester Little Theatre, Marian Newman said:

"I have always been a big fan of ghost stories, so it's very exciting to be able to bring 'Haunting Julia' to the stage. After watching a production of 'The Woman in Black', Ayckbourn was impressed by the audience reaction and it fuelled his desire to write a ghost play to elicit the same audience response to his work - the result was 'Haunting Julia'. The play is not just a ghost story, it's also about loss, the effect of notoriety on the very young, and the secrets people keep from those closest to them. The studio at Chester Little Theatre is an ideal venue for this play, an intimate space in a building which is over a hundred years old and maybe harbours some ghosts of its own."

Full details of 'Haunting Julia' can be found at: 

www.chesterlittletheatre.co.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online (booking fees apply).