Blackout - Fear Loves An Audience Review: lukewarm stage horror that succumbs to nothingness
Updated: 9 hours ago
06 October 2026 | 19:30 | Cast, Doncaster (UK & Sweden Tour)
⭐ | PR - Invite
Blackout: Fear Loves An Audience is something of an enigmatic production. Its marketing has made a strong impression through social media and leafleting, with tonight's second performance of the tour being almost entirely sold out. But at the same time, I knew almost nothing about the show before walking through the doors...
Listed as a 'hauntingly immersive theatrical experience', we expect a performance that draws audiences into the horror.. A small cast of actors gather inside an old working theatre. Superstitions are dismissed, until an unexplained series of events make these impossible to ignore. Except this 'old theatre' is the very one we're sat in, as we are treated as invisible spectators during a night-time rehearsal.
Greeted by a ghost light onstage, it begins to flicker as the performance begins. Followed by the overhead auditorium lights, which invite us inside this aforementioned haunted venue. It does depend on where you see the show however, as Doncaster's Cast is a very modern theatre which breaks this decrepit illusion.
Red lighting pulses to form a brooding atmosphere, and a young woman cries out for her daddy. The stage is set for an exorcism, which is overly shouty and acted haphazardly. Culminating in a 15 seconds+ burst of strobe lighting (which seems to bother audience members) we think, is this really it? Until everything breaks down. 'Technicians' call to restart the scene and the house lights temporarily come up in a rather meta style. This explains the mediocre acting, as we learn the trio are rehearsing a scene from the fictional play The Devil's Daughter.
But then it just... doesn't really get any better? The actors are stood around waiting for an update from tech, but it's directed in such a mechanical and cold manner, with lots of hands in pockets and a general unbothered-ness that doesn't read well on stage. At times like their feet are glued to the spot, lacking in physical energy and any sort of visual anchor.
This isn't helped by the writing of the three central characters, who are awfully one-dimensional. We have Richard (Graham MacDonnell) the slouchy, hard-core sceptic who lingers by the wings to set up some cheesy comic scares. Then there is Jade (Rose Broughton), his polar opposite and supernatural believer. And Chris (Nick Baker), the awkward middle-man who is painfully indecisive in judgement. When there is almost no flexibility in their beliefs, they quickly become shallow and representative of an opinion, rather than composite human beings.
Of course, audiences want a theatre horror to be bursting at the seams with thrills. But before anything we need a solid script, which Blackout is lacking. The script is very perfunctory, as you would imagine a Google search into paranormal phenomena: someone sees a figure in the mirror, the room goes cold, unexplained noises etc. More than anything, the play just isn't scary. It's sweary, but sparse moments of tension just fizzle out into nothingness with no climax. Complete with a technician (Bobbi Blaza) exclaiming 'we should go' every ten lines, which quickly becomes tired with no intention of actually exiting the stage.
There is a valiant collection of illusions (a medium's self-activated spirit bell, surround sound, momentary tricks of the eye), though it is very much a case of 'throw everything we know at the wall to impress audiences', rather than carefully selecting pieces for impact. It can feel somewhat of a sensory overload, not clever in its execution and more aggravating than interesting.
If you know me, you'll know that I adore gothic horror. It's where a lot of my theatre training lies, so it's underwhelming to see a ghost portrayed with such thin background. The psychology of theatre ghosts is unbelievably fascinating, and yet the spirit 'Eleanor' is reduced to a screaming demon, with an abrupt ending scene that audibly left audiences underwhelmed.
The concept behind Blackout - Fear Loves An Audience offers a lot of promise, although its presentation is surprisingly lukewarm and burdened with the most basic stagecraft issues. We don't need to see actors stood around with folded arms for 1hr 50m! Upon exiting, a number of disappointed comments were overheard, with the final applause clearly muted. If you're coming to see this production, you will get a horror of the stage, but maybe not the kind you're hoping for!
UK & Sweden Tour Information & Tickets: https://blackoutshow.com/
