Theatre | Tuesday 9 February 2027 | One night only
Looking for an alternative Valentine’s date? Award-winning playwright Paul Sellar returns to the stage with Love and Other Terrors, a deliciously dark collection of ghost stories debuting for one night only at Theatre Royal Brighton. Here are five reasons to book.
1. Six original ghost stories about love
Love and Other Terrors is a compendium of six spine-tingling tales, each exploring the unsettling side of love. Loss, unrequited longing, obsession and the price of leaving feelings unspoken all get their turn. Each story reveals a different terror of the human heart, which makes it a brilliantly unconventional choice for Valentine’s week. If you’d rather a shiver than a box of chocolates, this is for you.
2. A haunted library and a mysterious librarian
The stories unfold in the crumbling remains of a once-grand library, where chief librarian Charles Armitage opens a collection of disquieting tales. A motor journalist attends a speed-awareness course, an antique dealer is drawn to a fire-ravaged château, and a music-hall magician attempts a dangerous trick, each sliding into an escalating nightmare. Armitage returns between the tales, played by different performers, and his own dark secrets slowly emerge. It’s a clever framing device that ties the evening together.
3. Inspired by the masters of horror
Conceived as a bumper book of ghostly horror, the show draws on the anthology style of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. It also nods to the fireside storytelling tradition of M.R. James, the master of the English ghost story. Sellar describes it as a classic portmanteau horror and a compendium of contemporary gothic. Fans of The Woman in Black or Ghost Stories should put this in the diary.
4. Atmospheric music and sound
Recreating the intimate thrill of traditional ghost storytelling, the production blends slow-burn ghostly prose and propulsive gothic verse. It’s brought to life with live and recorded music, layered soundscapes and atmospheric lighting. The aim is to revive the old form and elevate it, striking a balance between the old and the new. Expect plenty of goosebumps in Theatre Royal Brighton’s main auditorium.
5. A playwright’s big stage return
This is Sellar’s first full-scale stage production in more than a decade. His earlier plays 2 Graves and World’s End both transferred to the West End, and he has since become known for BBC radio thrillers including The Gold Killing and How to Build a Supertower, both Radio 4 Drama of the Week. Developed with Arts Council England support, the Brighton show is the first outing, with plans for a London run to follow. Catch it first while it’s a one-off.
Tickets and info
Love and Other Terrors
Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Brighton BN1 1SD
Tuesday 9 February 2027 | One night only