One of the things about the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (and indeed the fringe scene in general) is that you often see shows that are very much works in progress. Typically, these shows are ‘good enough’ to go on stage, but aren’t quite at the point where they’ll wow audiences.
Ghosted! is a spoopy (silly spooky) musical show that has a lot of heart, bags of potential, and some great performances. It’s the story of Henry, a young man who grew up in a haunted house, who recently lost a loved one and is desperate to contact the dead.
Wackiness ensues as Henry contacts the local paranormal support group, gets help in the form of a trainee exorcist, and returns to his ancestral home to literally face his demons. Meanwhile, his dead friend has teamed up with the local genius loci (house spirit), a wise-cracking, poetry-spewing being that loves mayhem.
It’s a fun premise, and the cast gives it their all, especially Cormac Hurney as the wisecracking local spirit. The story lacks a bit of lore-building, relying on old tropes rather than creating its own world. The songs feel a little weak, but that’s mostly down to presentation rather than the songs themselves.
Death is a tough thing to make funny, and shows like Beetlejuice and Death Becomes Her achieve this by being very over the top. Alas, most of the zaniness here rests on one character, who simply isn’t enough to carry the whole show.
Ghosted! A New Musical! feels very new in places, but it wouldn’t be the first musical to become a much bigger beast after its opening night.
You can book tickets for the Edinburgh Fringe show here and learn more about the production here.
