Ghostly Tales of Sussex set to haunt the stage
Ghostly Tales of Sussex will be sending a few shivers through this year’s Shoreham Wordfest.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Always lovely
00:06to speak to Ethan Taylor, not least because Ethan does interesting things. Now this latest
00:11one, Ghostly Tales of Sussex, which you are bringing to Shoreham Wordfest, can be four
00:16performances each day on October the 5th and October the 6th, Ghostly Tales of Sussex.
00:21What are you trying to do? You're trying to scare the parents of us with this?
00:24No, no, I promise that that's not what we've got at the heart, although some of the tales
00:28are slightly creepy, I will admit. As a history-based company, we're trying to bring to life some
00:34of the Sussex folk tales, some folklore, some paranormal stories, that sort of thing. The
00:39county is rife with them. Some say it's to do with the fact that the county's got such
00:44a rich smuggling history. Smugglers deliberately circulate these tales to stop nosy eyes wandering
00:52out of their houses at night so they can conduct their illicit activities in secret without
00:57any prying eyes on them.
00:58So it could be a rational explanation, then?
01:01Exactly. But I like to believe that where there's smoke, there's fire, and where there's
01:05ghost stories, there could well be ghosts.
01:08Why are we so obsessed? Why are we so interested, then? You were saying, curiously, that you
01:13see an element of hope in a ghost story.
01:16Certainly. So I think there's a few factors which keeps us so intrigued with ghost stories.
01:20The first one is the fear factor. The adrenaline running is similar to getting on a roller
01:23coaster. I think ghost stories are, at the end of the day, they're stories. And humanity
01:29has always been obsessed with stories of all iterations. But like you say, I think at the
01:35end of it all, ghost stories are stories of hope. They're stories of life after death.
01:39They're stories about being able to communicate with your loved ones. And they're stories
01:43of sometimes benevolent beings coming back for their unfinished business.
01:50Oh, it sounds intriguing. Now, you've tailored this one specifically to Shoreham, with
01:54Shoreham-specific stories in there. But you could take those out. And as you're saying,
01:59this is pretty tourable. If things go well, you could adapt it to all sorts of places.
02:05Certainly. I can certainly tell you that Sussex has no shortage of ghost stories all up and
02:09down the county.
02:12Fantastic. So you just need this to go well in Shoreham, and then you could think about
02:17adapting.
02:18Exactly, exactly. No, we're really looking forward to the Shoreham one. And at the centre
02:22of it all is a few very creepy tales at the heart of Shoreham, including the Blue Lady
02:27of Shoreham Footbridge, which was a ghost story I didn't know until approaching this
02:31production.
02:32And without giving away too much, just hint what's going on there then with the Blue Lady.
02:37Well, she is a ghost. It's sort of what it says on the tin. She is a lady of a ghostly
02:45blue pallor who supposedly wanders the footbridge. Connected to her is the idea that she calls
02:52some of the mists. So if there's ever a large mist that rolls in off the sea, some people
02:58report seeing her in the midst of it, sobbing and wailing, along with the clatter of horses'
03:05hooves and also the dead faces of passed away mariners.
03:11Oh, fantastic. Now, personally, you are sceptical.
03:15I am. I like to say that I don't believe in ghosts, but I do believe in ghost stories.
03:22Beautifully put. Fantastic. Ghostly Tales of Sussex in Shoreham for Shoreham Wordfest,
03:28October 5th and October 6th. Ethan, lovely to speak to you again. Thank you.
03:33Thanks for having me.