Review: THE HAUNTING OF SUSAN A by Mark Ravenhill at King’s Head Theatre 1 - 26 June 2022

‘The haunting of Susan A is set to become a legend’ ★★★★ 

The black box theatre is packed with excitement as the night’s audience chatters in anticipation of the show. We’ve been promised a traditional ghost story, drawing on the history of King’s Head Theatre.  The show starts with an introduction from Ravenhill telling us some of the history of the theatre and setting the scene: Long before the little back room at The King’s Head became a theatre it was used (illegally) for boxing matches in the Victorian period. Just as the audience is about to start fidgeting, Suzanne Ahmet (as Susan) butts in telling him he’s got it all wrong and that he needs to tell the story properly. The dramatization then begins.

Ravenhill remains himself throughout as the presenter, and the stooge of the play within a play.  There might be some liberties in Ravenhill’s telling of the history of the theatre, mixing fact with fiction and getting a few much-needed laughs along the way. The audience patiently wait to be frightened and are not disappointed. People scream with fright, followed by nervous laughter. Some grasped at each-other’s hands or arms for comfort and didn’t let go for the rest of the performance.  

The sound (Roly Botha) and lighting (Jo Underwood) although minimal was extremely effective. At certain moments a regular ‘ticking’ sound and the crying of a baby, although barely noticeable, added to the understated effects for the haunting. Lighting proved to be an integral part of the story giving much eeriness to the night’s entertainment.   

Suzanne Ahmet playing the role of the actor who experiences a ghostly hand on her shoulder easily keeps the attention and mesmerises her audience with skill. She encompasses several personas including the hideous director (an archaic character whose presence is chilling in itself).  The juxtaposition between herself and Ravenhill takes us from the imagined past events of the haunting to the real events of today.

Ravenhill made a point of telling the audience about the next change of use for the theatre space. He mentioned the new purpose built ‘King’s Head’ which is adjacent to this one and he also explained that the current space will become a restaurant. From his description of the transformation, we might not even recognise the venue, but we might remember that there was a trauma right here in this room which is currently a theatre. This never happened, there is no haunting, there never was such a monstrous occurrence on these premises … or was there?

The brilliance of the show is just how easily it tells three stories (mixing fact and fiction): The actor’s story spanning 20 years, the story of the Victorian woman and the present-day story of King’s Head Theatre’s upcoming move to its new premises.  The King’s Head theatre is central to all three. 

THE HAUNTING OF SUSAN A by Mark Ravenhill

King’s Head Theatre 1 - 26 June 2022

Box Office https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/the-haunting-of-susan-a

CAST

Performed by Mark Ravenhill and Suzanne Ahmet.

CREATIVES

Associate Director Iman Qureshi (she/her)

Designer Simon Fraser (he/them)

Sound Designer Roly Botha (they/them)

Lighting Designer Jo Underwood (they/them)

Production Manager Madison Parker (she/her)

Stage Manager Summer Keeling (she/her)

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery