Blue Peter star in Grand premiere of spine-chilling ghost story When Darkness Falls

Children’s TV and theatre favourite Peter Duncan swaps Blue Peter for Black-Pool to premiere the seriously scary ghost story When Darkness Falls at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 September.

The Olivier nominated actor and popular TV presenter, whose theatre credits include Sebastian Faulks’ critically acclaimed Birdsong, will star as John Blondel in the terrifyingly twisted tale alongside renowned actor Daniel Rainford who most recently appeared in Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful at The Grand.

On a stormy night on the small island of Guernsey, a young paranormal expert joins a sceptical history teacher to record the first in a series of podcasts based on the island’s incredible folklore and paranormal history.  As the expert regales his horrifying stories, the teacher learns that we all have our own truth, our own story.  Ghosts that haunt us; that bring the past, present and future together in unexpected ways; ways that can threaten to unsettle everything we think we know.

These are ancient islands, and they are remote. Things have occurred here that would not occur elsewhere, that could not. There are secrets here...

Inspired by shocking true events, this powerful new production by renowned writers James Milton and Paul Morrissey draws us into dark pasts, reveals disturbing truths and explores the power of stories.  Perhaps most importantly, the ones we tell ourselves.

A Ghost Story – Why do we love them so much?

A scary ghost story in the evening has been around for as long as humans have been telling each other tall tales around flickering candles and campfires late into the night. They can frighten us right out of our wits, but we just keep coming back for more!

A Ghost Story - Five reasons why it’s good to be scared:

1. Feeling the fear is good for us – a healthy dose of primal fear keeps us safe and aware of dangers that may be lurking all around us. Without fear, we can become complacent and even put ourselves in peril.

2. It’s physically exhilarating – The adrenaline rush of a flood of fear can release naturally occurring opioids like endorphins that signal pleasure, along with a hit of dopamine when the fear subsides, and we know we are safe again.

3. Scary stories are a safe container for us to explore our own emotions. Many of us try to avoid uncomfortable feelings like sadness, worry and fear and never work through them. Creepy tales can give us an important outlet to properly experience those emotions – i.e., we can feel scared because of what a character is going through without being in any actual danger ourselves.

4. A ghost story can be a metaphor for the ‘ghosts’ we are dealing with in our own lives. Many of us can be haunted by things from our past (such as failed relationships or careers). We might even be contending with the ghosts of people we loved who are no longer with us. Experiencing a great ghost story can help give us a sense of closure and much-needed catharsis within our personal stories.

5. A ghost story helps us explain the unexplainable. The human brain is wired to deeply dislike things it can’t explain or doesn’t understand, so humans will search for any sense of reason even if it’s pretty unlikely or far-fetched. Ghosts can be a great explanation when we can’t find any other.

And sometimes we just want a really good scare from a great ghost story and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Watch the teaser trailer if you dare at www.whendarknessfalls.co.uk and book your seats now for this truly spooky ghost story – it’s best not go alone…

When Darkness Falls starring Peter Duncan (Blue Peter, Birdsong) and Daniel Rainford (Private Peaceful, The Batman) is at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 September 2022 at 7.30pm. Matinee performance on Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets from £15.50 with concessions available.

Please note – This production may not be suitable for children aged under 15 years

Please call the Box Office on 01253 290190 or visit www.BlackpoolGrand.co.uk for full listings, bookings and further information.