Review by Clara
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
A behemoth of a city like London doesn’t exist for almost two millennia without gathering a few urban legends and folktales along the way.
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| Photo by Charlie Flint |
‘The Highgate Vampire’ shines a shaky torchlight on alleged supernatural occurrences centred around North London’s Highgate Cemetery beginning in the late 1960s.
Entering the studio theatre, we encounter a bespectacled young lady handing out free sheets and sweeping the stage. She is later introduced to us as Audrey the technician. Rather than a play, it seems we are at a lecture hosted under the auspices of C.L.O.A.K. (Centre for the Locating of Occult and Arcane Knowledge). A man in a mitre introduces himself in a booming voice as Bishop Patrick Sheffield, the slayer of the Highgate Vampire. A few minutes later, a loud banging interrupts Sheffield - enter Daniel Farringdon, shamanic demon hunter. He’s apparently been trapped in the dressing room for the past twenty minutes because of the unfortunate placement of a big wooden cross. He also claims to be the slayer of the Highgate Vampire.
Those familiar with the actual history behind the tale of the Highgate Vampire may have caught on that the names have been changed to protect the not-quite-innocent. It was a storm of media publicity, two men’s decades-long rivalry, and our human penchant for stories that brewed the urban legend of the Highgate Vampire. While the script by James Demaine (playing Farringdon) and Alexander Knott (playing Sheffield) is a fictionalised account, it captures the essence of what makes the gothic and the folkloric compelling: we as humans tread the line between (morbid) curiosity and fear.
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| Photo by Charlie Flint |
‘The Highgate Vampire’ goes for a specific aesthetic and tone – a makeshift lecture room and two characterful characters bickering and trading repartee. The effect is undeniably charming. Though the show never aims for sustained bone-chilling frights, the lights and Samuel Heron’s sound design create an enjoyably spooky atmosphere during parts of the story which call for it.
The production was consistently entertaining throughout its 70-minute runtime. With each new loosely-connected incident that Sheffield and Farringdon introduce, the story meanders a bit and loses its way. The ending attempts to tie up loose ends, but (as is true in real life) some mysteries are unlikely to ever be resolved.
It’s clear that this is a labour of love from Bag of Beard theatre collective. As well as Alexander Knott and James Demaine doubling up as writers and performers, Zöe Grain demonstrates that she is a triple threat: not only is she “Audrey the technician”, she also produced the show and designed the projected visuals. This resourceful collective is certainly one to keep tabs on.
A cracking script, the occasional folk horror reference, song and dance interludes featuring original music, and excellent execution make this dark comedy a winning winter warmer.
Ultimately, ‘The Highgate Vampire’ tells us more about humanity than about the supernatural – our ambition, our foibles, and our curiosity.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Read our interview with James Demaine:
https://www.beyondthecurtain.co.uk/2025/10/the-highgate-vampire-alexander-knott.html
‘The Highgate Vampire’ runs at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, London until
Tuesday, 30 December 2025. Tickets are available from:
https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/the-highgate-vampire
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| Photo by Charlie Flint |
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