Exploring the terror of The Enfield Haunting

SussexWorld

Paul Unwin’s new play The Enfield Haunting brings to the stage one of the most famous poltergeist events in the world, with dates including Theatre Royal Brighton from November 14-18 before transferring to The Ambassadors Theatre London.

Transcript

00:00 Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for the Sussex Newspapers. Now,

00:06 lovely and intriguing this afternoon to be speaking to Paul Unwin, who is the playwright

00:10 behind The Enfield Haunting, which is heading to Brighton Theatre Royal, November 14th to

00:17 the 18th. Now, Paul, you were saying as you get older, you're more and more interested

00:21 in the things that you really don't understand, and this is part of that.

00:26 That's right, that's right. I mean, I came across this story years ago. I was introduced

00:31 to one of the original ghost hunters and went in a sceptic, went to meet him in his flat

00:35 in Earl's Court in the dark September afternoon and came out really mystified by what had

00:42 gone on in this perfectly ordinary house in Enfield in 1977/78.

00:47 And the gist of what happened in this house was?

00:52 Basically, the gist was that it's a very extraordinary story. Things started moving around, furniture

01:01 started moving, a Lego brick was thrown across the room so hard, a little tiny Lego brick,

01:06 that it marked a girl's head and she had a sort of a bruise there for days. No one threw

01:13 the Lego brick. Quite rapidly, or quite, yes, immediately, they mother phoned the police.

01:20 The police came, two police, a woman police officer and a man police officer came and

01:26 they stood there, these are the Enfield police, they stood there and they watched a chair

01:32 move across the room. They fled in fear. There was then, the mum, Peggy Hodgson, then phoned

01:40 the Daily Mirror thinking, well, maybe the Daily Mirror can help me make sense of this.

01:44 So the Daily Mirror came round. That then attracted two well-known ghost hunters, Guy

01:51 Lyne Playfair and Maurice Grose. And these two kindly men moved into the house and lived

01:57 there for nearly 18 months, sleeping every night in the house, trying to make sense of

02:06 what was happening to this family and trying to help them, trying to reduce their fears.

02:11 A lot of stuff about poltergeists do have rather violent endings of people burning up

02:17 and there was always this fear of fire. And the play is the story of one night, one night

02:24 in that extraordinary period.

02:27 And what are you wanting to do with the play, just to show that there are some things that

02:31 absolutely bond our understanding?

02:33 Yes, I'm trying to do that. I'm also trying to explore some of the psychological forces

02:37 that might have been at work and trying to give an audience the chance to sort of visit

02:42 something that is frightening and real, emotionally real. And I think often in the theatre, if

02:52 you see something, it's a good way to help you understand your own world. There's a lot

02:56 of pain in the play, there's a lot of comedy actually, but there's also a lot of pain.

03:00 And I think the pain is what leads to the events that occur.

03:03 Now, isn't it interesting when you're flicking through what's coming up at a theatre, I think

03:06 you do instantly stop and think, "Oh, if you see something that's a bit ghosty, a bit supernatural."

03:13 Why do we like stories such as this so much, do you think?

03:17 I think it's quite primal. And I think theatre is the place. I think sitting in a theatre

03:24 with other people, experiencing stuff that you don't want to imagine, experiencing the

03:31 unimaginable is rather thrilling. And we walk out into the night feeling, "Woof!" It's a

03:38 very purging thing. You go back to Hamlet, that begins with a ghost. It's a long theatrical

03:46 tradition. And I think theatre conjures, conjures, conjures, conjuring ghosts, the ghosts of

03:53 older characters, the essence of story. And in this, which is what I love about it, a

04:01 very ordinary group of people. This is not a ghost story set in a Victorian house or

04:08 in an old vicarage or a castle in Austria. This is an ordinary, very real working class

04:20 family facing the most bizarre events. And the play doesn't give you an answer. I think

04:28 it gives you some clues. And I know what I think happened. And the play has those clues

04:35 in it. But I'm enjoying being in rehearsal, watching everyone follow my plot.

04:43 - It will be fascinating too for you to watch the audience once you get into it.

04:51 - No, I think this is the joy...

04:53 - Just see what you're doing to them.

04:56 - Yeah. We will learn about the play and we'll learn about ourselves watching it. I mean,

05:01 why I love theatre, I work in film and television and in all sorts of writing, but why I love

05:06 coming back to theatre is that extraordinary moment when the coughing stops, everyone's

05:16 mobile phones are behind them and all their worries have gone and they're locked into

05:20 something that is unfolding before their eyes. And there are moments in this production where

05:29 what unfolds before their eyes, I think, famous last words, are quite breathtaking.

05:36 - Well, it sounds superb. It sounds intriguing. Paul, really, really lovely to speak to you.

05:42 Very much looking forward to seeing you.

05:43 - And I hope to see you at the show.

05:44 - Absolutely, yes.

05:45 - Come and have a drink with me after.

05:46 - Thank you. All the best. Thank you.

05:47 - Take care. Thanks for your time. Cheerio. Bye.

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