Classic story steps out from the shadows

This time last week I was watching Ghost the Musical, set to be the big show of The Mayflower’s autumn season during an earlier tour stop – and it was a moving experience.

A backstage tour ahead of the show revealed virtually nothing, I was surprised to note. But that was because it was all to come to life as if by magic before our very eyes.

Video projections graphically recreate the frenzy of New York life and the ascent into heaven as well as the journey to hell. We gawp at the illusions which show ghostly Sam walking through walls, leaping in and out of a moving subway train and even into the body of his psychic intermediary.

It was seriously ingenious stuff and, dare I say it, one musical that is in fact better than the movie.

The Oscar-winning film left an indelible mark on me. As a rather quiet just 12-year-old I was terrified that botched muggings would happen around every corner.

There’s no doubt it’s a classic, but technical trickery and the beauty of live theatre have helped it enormously, aided by the fact that Bruce Joel Rubin’s book adheres closely to his original script.

That’s not to say Ghost the Musical is without a heart and soul.

Wendy Mae Brown is hysterical as her namesake psychic Oda as she chats to the deceased, makes a nuisance of herself in the bank and dreams of life with a dodgy $10 million windfall.

And Stewart Clarke and Rebecca Trehearn do an incredible job bringing to life the intensity of the relationship of Sam and Molly, complete with potter’s wheel, Unchained Melody and ‘ditto’.

I really loved it and can suggest only one thing. Take tissues.

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