DARK and eerie would best describe Ghosts at the Dolman Theatre in Newport this week. 

Described as ‘a haunting tale of suppressed Scandanian sexuality’, the play explores themes of religion, veneral disease, incest and euthanasia. Written in the late 1800s, it was initially banned for its controversial themes.

Enclosed off from the world around them, the action takes place in only one room – creating a suffocating setting. The play presents challenging and emotional material which the actors handled well. 

Clare Drewett as Helene excelled as the internally-tortured widow who had been married off by her parents for wealth and a lifetime of suffering. 

Stuart Moss as the plagued Oswald stole the show in the final act as the true extent of his disease becomes apparent. 

From the opening scream from Regina to the closing cries of Oswald, Ghosts is an unsettling play that highlights just how rigid society was in 19th century Norway. A woman was married off for money rather than love and, despite her feelings for another man, was bound to her emotionally-abusive husband forever in the eyes of God. 

Newport Playgoers Society put on a good show with difficult subject matter that ensured the audience were immersed for the duration. 

Ghosts runs each night at the Dolman Theatre this week at 7.15pm until Saturday’s matinee at 2.30pm. Visit dolmantheatre.co.uk 

Joshua Nicholas