Review: IT WALKS AROUND THE HOUSE AT NIGHT at Southwark Playhouse Borough

Stuart King 10 March, 2026, 13:01

London has been enjoying a resurgence over the past few months with plays which depict things that go bump in the night, or at least productions which more readily squeeze into the horror genre than any other. Aside from the usual ghostly Christmas fayre of Scrooge and his four visitations, 2.22 A Ghost Story clocked-up seven West End runs and continues to tour the provinces, Inside No.9: Stage/Fright recently completed a decent run at Wyndhams, Paranormal Activity spooked the bejesus out of audiences at the Ambassadors, and Hampstead Theatre recently hosted Jamie Armitage’s A Ghost In Your Ear, which for a small scale show, was utterly riveting, wholly original and shockingly impactful.

George Naylor in IT WALKS AROUND THE HOUSE AT NIGHT. Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wa.

Now, following a successful tour, Southwark Playhouse presents IT WALKS AROUND THE HOUSE AT NIGHT by Tim Foley, in which George Naylor takes on the role of Joe, an out of work actor who accepts a proposition made by one of the well-to-do regulars at the pub where he works tending bar for Gabby and her academic girlfriend Andrea. What at first seems like an easy gig playing a ghostly apparition to scare the toff’s visiting nieces at his country pile, soon degenerates into something far more sinister.

Within the relatively intimate confines of the playing space, the cleverly contrived staging with set, sound and lighting elements designed to enhance those all-important fright moments, there’s a genuine sense of impending jeopardy as Naylor warms (or should that be chills?) to his yarn, by means of a slightly fey and tongue-in-cheek delivery. Neutralising the grim and primordial elements with genuinely engaging flirtation and the occasional f-bomb, lightens the load considerably so that rather than wading through an excruciatingly fusty piece of Victorian melodrama, we instead find ourselves bang up-to-date with modern references to Bridgerton, and Joe’s prohibited use of his mobile phone and ear buds which provide light relief via Belinda Carlisle’s 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth' as he makes his way along the sinister and unnerving route around the estate on his second tour of duty. Even the fridge in his lodge accommodations is used effectively to provide both chills and chuckles.

There’s some great stage trickery deployed on the set designed by Tom Robbins and director Neil Bettles, which ensures that the impacts of lighting and video projection by Joshua Pharo are fully maximised. As such, the piece genuinely builds an eerie momentum only to have each moment popped by a campy throw-away observation — like when Joe references himself as Scooby-Do, the bait in Daphne and Velma’s plan (when Gabby and Andrea join him to challenge the evil menace at the centre of the play). A pity then that towards the last 20 minutes the writer has found it necessary to use extensive exposition to fill-in gaps and tie-up loose ends – like the disappearance of Dufus Rufus. Also appearing in the show as The Dancer, Oliver Baines is one such info-dumping device which, perhaps counterintuitively, slows matters and adds more stodgy detail than is required, but this is a minor gripe in an evening filled with sinister goings-on and a great deal of fun and frolics.

IT WALKS AROUND THE HOUSE AT NIGHT continues at Southwark Playhouse until 28th March and is delivered in a snappy 80mins running time without interval.