Is any of it real? Is the question placed above the title of this play and the audience enter a world where this is constantly questioned by the twists of the plot.
By Angie Millard
Photos by Manuel Harlan
As in all thrillers from Agatha Christie (who first asked an audience not to divulge the plot of The Mousetrap) to suspense meister Alfred Hitchcock, a reversal of expectations and fear of the unknown are exploited to the full.
In the theatre concourse the audience are invited to write questions to a psychic, drawing us into the world of the play which opens to the scene of a psychic show by Sheila Gold. House lights are on and we witness two members of the audience being put into contact with their deceased loved ones.
The experience feels real. We are involved in the process, but at the change of scene, when we see Sheila in her squalid dressing room and hear her talk to a girl who wishes to join this theatrical world, we immediately doubt her veracity.
She accepts this apprentice on the basis that after she has taught her the techniques of the trade, she will give her 10% of her earnings for the rest of her life.
Eileen Walsh plays Sheila with the toughness and ruthless dominance of a hard-bitten businesswoman. We are told that she has recently lost a court case in which she was accused of charlatanism. She has lost much of her reputation and half a million in costs, so she is hungry to regain her position.
Tara, played by Megan Placito, grew up in the travelling showman community in real life and is well placed to represent their world of smoke, mirrors and mystery. The writers were also helped by a showman consultant, William Hussey, who introduced them to the language and activities of fortune tellers, novelty shows, and the lure of the fair.
When Sheila is approached by a rich couple who wish her to conduct a seance to contact their dead child, she readily agrees and vows to ‘bleed them dry’.
The set, designed by Rae Smith with the ingenious use of projection and moveable set pieces, is remarkable and is helped by the lighting effects of Zoe Spurr, Chris Fisher’s illusion design, and sound by Nick Manning to add an otherworldliness which truly convinces. Jump scares abound as do unexpected twists and manufactured terror.
The author’s desire is to overturn the expectations of those who don’t believe. As Tara remarks later in the play, it can’t work with her as she doesn’t believe any of it. Dyson and Nyman reverse expectations throughout and describe fake as blurring into otherness. As an audience member one is constantly surprised and forced to reassess the evidence.
Jaz Singh Deol and Nikhita Lester are convincing as the bereaved couple, and the seance scene with candles and a tinkling bell is unsettling and chilling. The directors do not shy away from the ‘Grand Guignol’ and it works. The juxtaposition of Dave Hearn’s cynical, egocentric, radio presenter is a perfect foil.
Francis Barber’s bravura performance as Rosa, Sheila’s estranged mother, is a superb representation of the money grabbing ruthless matriarch we have met in other examples of the genre. She is willing to stop at nothing and in the pre-publicity, we are told ‘mummy wants to kill you’. But do her plans work out?
Her character transition into the last act is astonishing but the winding stairs of the set may prove to be a problem and as far as I’m concerned weren’t necessary.
I must also point out that some of the very loud noises used to create a ‘ghostly effect’ didn’t work for me but the whole play with its glimpses of life in the Showman’s world of fake illusion and real emotion made a powerful vehicle for what Nyman is achieving in the rebirth of modern horror. The stage is a perfect place to create the reality of our inner fears as you can’t press the pause button.
We are instructed as an audience to keep the secrets so I mustn’t spoil any of the pleasure you will surely enjoy in this play which runs from 29 April until 23 May 2026.
The Psychic is being performed at York Theatre Royal until 23 May 2026.