4 – 8 November
It’s a Tuesday night at the Weston Studio, and the place is packed. Pints in hand, the audience are primed for chaos as Gurt Haunted returns to Bristol Old Vic. The self-proclaimed “paranormal parody” is a part-improvised, part-devised ghost-hunting comedy that’s almost sold out its Bristol run. What it lacks in polish, it makes up for in enthusiasm.
At the centre of the action are Toby George (Sir Francis Hailbop), Casey Lloyd (Tony Chestnut) and Benj Foster (Arthur Goodun/Reece): a hapless trio of spirit chasers trying to catch ghosts and maybe a bit of Dave-channel fame. Director Krista Matthews keeps the energy up, steering a show that teeters somewhere between send-up and shambles.
The concept has rich potential. Ghost-hunting is ripe for parody, and Bristol’s folklore and local pride could make for a brilliant comic mix. But too often the show doesn’t get there. It takes twenty minutes to find its feet, and the plot that emerges never really coheres. The writing leans on easy laughs; schoolboy toilet humour, innuendo, jabs about body shape; which quickly start to repeat. You sense the spectre of a sharper, cleverer show hovering just out of reach…
The crowd, to their credit, are all in. When the cast catch the room’s wavelength, the fun is infectious. A night-vision green-screen gag lands brilliantly, and the final singalong is pure silliness done right. There’s a warm, beer-soaked camaraderie to it that feels very Bristol, and the performers’ affection for the city runs through everything.
Design-wise, it’s knowingly DIY. Abigail Manard’s set and costumes are functional rather than funny, and the visuals rarely rise above the basics. Natalia Chan’s lighting and Jack Orozoco Morrison’s sound do a bit more of the heavy lifting, with cracked radios, sudden bangs, and the hum of a dodgy spirit box giving the atmosphere its pulse.
Ultimately, Gurt Haunted is more chaotic sketch night than supernatural spoof. It’s baggy, uneven, and not quite the sum of its ideas; but the sympathetic West Country crowd roared, the pints flowed, and the energy rarely dipped. If you go with friends and lean into the daftness, you’ll have a good time, even if the ghosts never quite materialise.
★★★☆☆ Tilly Marshall 5 November 2025
Photography credit: Edward Felton