Review: Paranormal Activity live on stage, UK tour, Glasgow | Paranormal Activity play

Lisa in the theatre

1 hour ago

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The first major UK tour of Paranormal Activity has arrived in Glasgow this week where it has its Scottish premiere at the Theatre Royal. The horror film-turned-theatre experience brings a new story, loaded with thrills and technical wizardry, to the stage in sensational style. Read my review here.

Paranormal Activity UK tour review. Photo is of the original London cast. Credit: Johan Persson — Paranormal Activity original London cast. Credit: Johan Persson

Paranormal Activity (play) ★★★★☆

Review: 22 September 2026 | Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity films became a cultural phenomenon when his micro-budget 2007 indie horror evolved into a massive mainstream box office success. Now the franchise has inspired a theatre play that has reached London's West End and Broadway, and has set out on a wide-scale UK tour this month.

Written by American playwright Levi Holloway and directed by Punchdrunk's Felix Barrett, Paranormal Activity Live on stage is a new modern ghost story inspired by the films that promises to blend horror with theatre.

James (Eastender's James Bye) and Lou (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) have just moved into their new home in London having fled their lives in Chicago after Lou experienced a number of terrifying episodes. But as the lights start to flicker and things begin to go bump in the night, James and Lou soon discover that places aren't haunted; people are.

I've seen several horror plays on stage with varying degrees of success. They are mostly fun, slightly spooky tales, but some of them, disappointingly, rely on loud noises and bright lights for their jump scares. Paranormal Activity doesn't do that. It's the first 'horror' theatre production I've seen that truly feels like cinematic horror.

There are unsettling complete blackouts and chilling lines in the narrative, sure, but there are also jaw-dropping moments of stagecraft and illusion that have to be seen to be believed.

It's impossible to talk about them without spoilers, and you won't find any of those here, but with Tony Award-winning member of The Magic Circle Chris Fisher behind the illusions (Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), perhaps it's no surprise that they are stupendous. Coupled with Felix Barrett's visionary direction, they create a seamless dance between live actors and... something else.

(Is it paranormal, is it real, is it a trick - you decide.)

Fly Davis' set is a two-storey house with open living and kitchen areas on the ground floor, and bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. There is so much detail to look at and so many opportunities for something to come out of the shadows.

Paranormal Activity makes superb use of lighting and shadows (Anna Watson), with plenty of misdirection and direction through lighting. The constant passing of car headlights outside the windows helps to ground the story in reality and casts yet more unnerving shadows across the stage.

Stage horror, done right

I'm in awe at the skill it must take to deliver this show night after night. The small cast and backstage teams have to navigate precisely timed visual and sound effects, and elements that I assume are hidden within the set and costumes.

Crucially, all the "tricks" really do elevate the story. Paranormal Activity Live is such a fabulous theatrical experience; it did (almost) make me believe I was witnessing the paranormal on stage.

For those hoping to spend the evening on the edge of their seats, the tense atmosphere is expertly built from the very start. There are scares in this show, but they all come naturally as part of the narrative and are thoroughly deserved every time. This is stage horror, done right.

The audience gasped as one

The biggest compliment I can give to Paranormal Activity is to relay the audience reaction on opening night at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. We are all used to applause at the end of a show, but twice during Act I of Paranormal Activity and at least once during Act II, after witnessing a moment of technical brilliance on stage, the one thousand five hundred-strong audience gasped as one and then broke into appreciative applause. What a fabulous reaction to witness!

The cast do a great job with the complex production, and while the story itself is pretty simple, it leaves room for the mind-bending theatrical thrills to take centre stage. There are a couple of choices that didn't quite land for me, and I do think that Act II could've done with one more scare. But these are minor criticisms of an otherwise very impressive production, and it's impossible to go into detail without spoilers.

As a horror fan I'm thrilled that we finally have a play that does the genre justice. Paranormal Activity on stage will not be for everyone, but for those looking for a good scare, it's the perfect Halloween treat. ★★★★☆

Paranormal Activity is at the Theatre Royal Glasgow until Saturday 26 September before it continues on UK tour. It's also back in London's West End for a limited winter season. More details below.