The Courtyard and Theatre of the Damned will present The London Horror
Festival, a new festival of theatrical horror and the macabre, at The
Courtyard from 25th October to 27th November.
25 Oct – 27 Nov
Revenge of the Grand Guignol
By Andre de Lorde/Tom Richards/Stewart Pringle
Theatre of the Damned
7.30pm (except 27 Oct, 7pm)
An insane scientist inflicts cruel experiments on his unsuspecting
patients. Night falls on a care home where an old man is terrorised
by ghosts from the past. A kinky game ends in heartbreak and murder.
A beautiful young woman is trapped in a munitions factory which swims
with blood. Four short dramas inspired by Paris’ notorious theatre
of the macabre.
25 – 30 Oct
Breathing Space
By Dallace Jones
Laura Steel and Arden Redgrave
7.30pm
Leonard Walker is a US acting coach who pushes his students to murky
psychological recesses in the hope of improving their acting skills.
Yet he doesn’t ever seem to teach them anything about acting.
When Claire, a British actress, sees through him, Leonard does all
he can to humiliate her and destroy her presence within the group.
Disturbing, and darkly funny
25 Oct – 6 Nov
The Dunwich Horror
By David Dawkins (based on the short story by H P Lovecraft)
Ororo Productions
9.30pm
In Dunwich - a furtive, remote village whose annals reek of overt
viciousness; of half-hidden murders and incest; a bitter old wizard
performs the strange rituals and unhallowed rites that will call forth
the doom of all mankind. An all-new adaptation of H.P Lovecraft’s
classic tale of ancient horror.
31 Oct – 1 Nov
Night of the Damned
London Horror Festival
7.30pm
Hallowe'en at the London Horror Festival. On the evening of October
31st the Courtyard opens its doors to the creatures of the night in
an evening of pitch-black comedy, gothic rock, electro-carnage and
undead hordes. Headlined by Release the Bats.
1 – 6 Nov
Possession is 9/10ths
By Kathryn McConnell
What? What? Theatre
7.30pm
Neighbours from hell and Lotto winners, Dolly and Clint Wood, are
having the time of their lives. Suddenly, they find themselves sitting
on their sofa with a hazy memory of the previous nights’ antics.
Just then, in walks a new young couple, Helen and John, who start
to re-decorate. Realising they are in fact now deceased and not wanting
to let death get the better of them, the Woods decide try to force
the couple out. The nosey neighbour, Betty Box gets involved and things
take a really bizarre turn.
1 Nov
Poultrygeist
(With special guest Lloyd Kaufman)
Troma Entertainment
10.30pm
A special late-night showing of Troma Entertainment’s acclaimed
Poultrygeist – Night of the Chicken Dead, followed by
a Q&A with the Lloyd Kaufman, president of Troma Entertainment,
champions of independent horror cinema.
When American Chicken Bunker choose the Ancient Tromahawk Tribe Indian
Burial Ground for the site of their latest restaurant, it unleashes
forces of total clucking darkness that tear a bloody hole in the lives
of two high-school sweethearts. With blood, guts, Islamic Extremists,
lesbians and deep-fried, finger-licking carnage, it’s Poultrygeist:
Night of the Chicken Dead.
8-10 Nov
Camden’s Most Horrid Phantasmagoria Events
By Ian John Shillito and company
7.30pm
You are cordially invited to a historical meeting by Professor Gary
Cranks who will enthral us with the details from his latest discovery
found hidden in the depths of the Camden Catacombs. A performance
of formidable endings.
8 – 20 Nov
The Woods Are Lovely
By TG Jimm
Facsimile Productions
9.30pm
A young British couple are enjoying a relaxing holiday, camping out
in the mountains. The arrival of a strange man whose past makes no
sense drives them into a night of guilt, recrimination and mounting
horror… A new play of pitch black humour and brutal psychological
violence.
11 – 13 Nov
The Monster Hunters
By Matt Woodcock and Peter Davies
Newgate Productions
7.30pm
London. 1971. The forces of evil, so long lying dormant, are about
to emerge to bring chaos and fear to the swinging streets of the Big
Smoke. Who can stand in their way? Roy Steel, professional alcoholic,
unprofessional womaniser & ex-big game hunter, and Lorrimer Chesterfield,
Professor of occult studies at London University and owner of the
2nd largest brain in Britain.
15 – 17 Nov
Zombie Science 1Z
Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies
7.30pm
Enrol now for a spoof lecture on the real science behind the undead.
Featuring a multi-media presentation, live demonstrations and an online
exam certified by the Zombie Institute for Theoretical Studies (ZITS),
Theoretical Zombiologist Doctor Austin teaches how a zombie outbreak
might occur, its effect on humans and importantly how to stop it.
18 - 20 Nov
Fresh, Live- and Dead...
The Impresarios
7.30pm
This highly-skilled company of actors take your suggestions and improvise
a brand new horror every evening – all made up on the night.
Now established as one of London’s top improvisation groups,
they have performed at venues across the UK, including The Lyric Studio
in Hammersmith, The Old Vic Tunnels, Exeter Phoenix Black Box (at
the Exeter Fringe Festival) and most recently at the Theatre503.
22 – 27 Nov
The White House
Written by Angie Fullman, Charlotte Ive and Anna Söderblom, based
on characters created by the company
In the Gutter Productions
7.30pm
In the twilight years of the 18th century, the notorious White House
brothel catered to the specialised tastes of London’s more adventurous
and discerning clientele. Now The White House opens its doors once
more, inviting you in to experience the most infamous of illicit pleasures,
to explore the most scandalous of secrets, and to share in the darkest
of fantasies. In The Gutter Productions will take you on an immersive
sensual journey through this seductive, dangerous world where anything
can be yours – for a price.
22 – 27 Nov
The Orgy in the Lighthouse & Other Dark Tales
Written by Ed Allenby, Eugene Heros, Leon Abric, Lee Ravitz, Michael
Wilson, Richard Hand, Alfred Machard, Neil Greenblatt
Le Nouveau Guignol
9.30pm
Le Nouveau Guignol presents three brutally stark plays for the London
Horror Festival, bringing together two classic Grand-Guignol
plays whilst showcasing new writing in the genre. Ed Allenby’s
new script Penalty shows the gruesome price a young woman is
forced to pay for a perceived insult, whilst in the classic Guignol
comedy Chop-Chop! a man finds himself stuck in a guillotine
with his lover’s husband in charge of the controls! The Orgy
in the Lighthouse – until now considered too shocking for
the British stage – charts the descent of a light-hearted party
into torture and murder…
