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.
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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.