Review: Ghosts, Greenwich Theatre

How far would you go to escape a future you felt had already been mapped out for you? This is the intriguing question at the heart of Peter Martyn’s Ghosts, a funny and thought-provoking new drama at Greenwich Theatre Studio. 

It’s refreshing to see small-scale fringe theatre working with such an imaginative premise, particularly one that Martyn develops with great care. Ghosts oscillates between the plausible and the implausible, the fantastical and the practical, but Martyn has clearly worked through his ideas logically, giving his audience a compelling reason to make this journey with him. 

We begin on a desert island, where a lone man (Nick Thomas) has apparently built himself a remarkably comfortable existence. He has shelter, clothes, refrigeration, a means of desalinating water, music and some 4,000 books. He was once a television reality star, a kind of David Blaine figure whose increasingly dangerous feats of escapism made him famous. Convinced that those managing his career would ultimately push him towards the one stunt from which he could not escape, he has chosen instead to disappear completely. 

Then a plane crash deposits apparently shallow and angry Kerrigan (James Turner) on his island. 

The arrival of Kerrigan puts both men in jeopardy, although for very different reasons. As they work out whether they can survive together (or might be better off apart), their histories, fears and motivations begin to emerge. 

It’s a compelling premise, but Martyn doesn’t rest on his laurels: he continues to raise the stakes and shift gears with every scene. Every time you find yourself questioning his logic, Martyn supplies an answer before making another handbrake turn. It’s remarkably difficult to predict where the story itself is heading and that is what makes the narrative so gripping. 

There’s also a lovely thread of humour running through proceedings. Thomas and Turner create two sharply contrasting characters who bounce beautifully off one another, providing moments of lightness without ever minimising the underlying menace. Both give excellent performances. 

Martyn, who also directs, breaks the action into a succession of short scenes separated by blackouts. While this does allow the drama to develop through different scenarios, it comes at a price. Pace is sometimes lost and the emotional stakes are raised in somewhat jarring steps rather than a smooth crescendo. 

There are other moments where the writing could use greater subtlety. Once Kerrigan’s name is established, Johnny uses it so relentlessly that it begins to grate. More significantly, the final stages feel a little too convenient. Kerrigan’s early desperation and rough manner give way too readily at the end, following a late revelation about childhood trauma that feels too superficial. 

These reservations never stopped me being enthralled by the story. Beneath its entertaining premise, Ghosts asks serious questions about how much control we have over the lives we create, what makes those lives worth living and whether escape really offers the freedom we desire. 

Written and directed by: Peter Martyn 

Ghosts runs at the Greenwich Theatre Studio until Thursday 20 August.