Presented by 4th Wall Productions, this is Kirsten Hawkins’ first foray into writing and producing a play, which is directed and co-produced by Ted Grant. This first attempt is a result of Hawkins’ involvement in the ‘Make It Write’ creative writing course run locally, which has enabled her to take her initial drafts from page-to-stage.
It is a little early for Halloween, but with a definite ghostly Halloween feel, ‘Ghosted!’ is set on a winter evening in Liverpool, when three people sign up to a ghost tour, and learn a little about themselves as well.
The staging reflects the essence of the play, a dark night in Liverpool, a lonely lamp lights the dark evening, the noises of the night surround us (sound created by Max Dickinson), and smoke adds to the eerie atmosphere. We are introduced to the tour guide with the Liver-Ghoul Tour Company, Gino (Lauren Blakeway) who announces the ghost tour in a Rocky Horror-Esque style grand entrance. We then meet the customers who have paid to go along on the tour, Nathaniel (Paul Carroll) who lost his friend in an accident and wants to feel close to her again; another person mourning the loss of someone is Gertrude (Pauline Davies) who lost her daughter; and then Nathaniel’s brother Howard (Adam Murphy) ambles along, who does not appear to be booked in but tags along anyway.
Grant as director has ensured that the lighting and sound is right, and that the staging is eery, but does the play deliver the ghost tour it promises? The play is a comedy interspersed with touching moments of vulnerability, and it is rooted in the local environment of Liverpool with the inclusion of local place names, and the humour is typically northern. Hawkins has kept the feel of the play very down to earth, but it is the meeting of strangers during this ghost tour which particularly connects – human nature is laid bare, cunningly disguised as humour but showing the vulnerabilities as human beings. In particular Howard and Nathanial’s relationship offers more depth than expected in this light-hearted comedy.
Given that this is the first staged production of Hawkins’ writing, it shows an ability to construct a play with an interesting subject, humour and good pacing. I would suggest, however, that the final scene was unnecessary. To end the play before the final scene would allow the audience to create their own ending, as much of the information was inferred in earlier scenes.
The cast rose to the challenge and turned in good performances with special mention to Blakeway as Gino who energetically threw herself into the role.
It is clear that much thought and imagination has gone into this production, and in answer to the question raised earlier about whether the production lives up to its name; I would say – yes! It is energetic, and funny, whilst touching on the subject of personal loss, and for a first play, this is a very good beginning! The star-rating reflects that this is a very good example of a first foray into writing, it does need some work, but the staging, writing and direction were good, so well done!
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Reviewer: Caroline Worswick
Reviewed: 15th October 2026
Theatre Muse UK Rating: ****
