At 15, Sasha was called an art world prodigy. Celebrities wanted to buy his paintings. His first exhibition was going to make him a superstar.
But now he lives in a run-down flat, with his out-of-work boyfriend, and no one’s even heard of him… What went wrong?
Critics’ Circle Award-winning writer Philip Ridley’s thrilling, darkly comic play, written during lockdown, returns to the Arcola after premiering to critical acclaim in 2022.
Reimagined by original director Wiebke Green, with actor Louis Davison taking the role of Sasha, this is an exhilarating and deeply moving one-man show about family, memory, what it means to be an artist, and being haunted by the life we never lived.
Post-show Q&A with Philip Ridley and Wiebke Green: 6 October
Following the show on Monday 6 October, playwright Philip Ridley will be in conversation with director Wiebke Green about his life and work, and how he came to write The Poltergeist, followed by audience questions.
-
Running time
90 minutes -
Age guidance
15+ -
Content warnings
Praise for The Poltergeist (2025)
“An extraordinary piece of storytelling… a tour-de-force”
“Wickedly ambitious… brilliantly executed”
“An astonishing, awe-inspiring performance”
“Meticulously crafted… a mind-blowing feat”
“Distinct, crisp and very funny”
“Stunning…a thrilling experience”
“A tremendously confident performance, embraced body and soul”
“Astounding... impossible to look away from”
“Astonishing virtuosity… a highly accomplished piece of theatre”
“A remarkable feat of stamina and sharp intensity”
“Fascinating... holds both your head and heart in a taut drama with nothing but his voice and movement”
Production photos
Rehearsal photos
The Company
-
Louis Davison
Sasha
Louis Davison
Sasha
Louis Davison’s training includes National Youth Theatre, RADA Shakespeare School, and Goldsmiths University (BA First Class Hons 2023). On stage, he has performed in Richard III (ATG Trafalgar Studios), French Without Tears (Orange Tree Theatre), The Grim (Old Red Lion Theatre), and As You Like It (Riverside Studios). His screen work includes Prince Edmund in Netflix’s Vikings: Valhalla, Simon in Hulu’s Find Me in Paris, Death in Paradise, Maigret and Geoffrey Charles in BBC’s Poldark. Film credits include Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and The Fallow Few. He has also voiced roles in Good Omens, Doctor Who, and Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
-
Philip Ridley
Writer
Philip Ridley
Writer
Philip was born and grew up in the East End of London. He studied painting at St Martin’s School of Art. He has written many highly regarded and hugely influential stage plays: the seminal The Pitchfork Disney (now published as a Methuen Modern Classic), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (winner of a Time Out Award, the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, and the Meyer-Whitworth Prize), Ghost from a Perfect Place, Vincent River (nominated for the London Festival Fringe Best Play Award), the highly controversial Mercury Fur, Leaves of Glass, Piranha Heights (nominated for the WhatsOnStage Mobius Award for Best Off West End Production), Tender Napalm (nominated for the London Fringe Best Play Award), Shivered (nominated for the OffWestEnd Best New Play Award), Dark Vanilla Jungle (winner of an Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award), Radiant Vermin (now published as a Methuen Modern Classic), Tonight With Donny Stixx, Karagula (nominated for the OffWestEnd Best New Play Award), The Beast of Blue Yonder, The Poltergeist (winner of the OffWestEnd OnComm Award for Best Live Streamed Play) and Tarantula; plus several plays for young people (collectively known as The Storyteller Sequence): Karamazoo, Fairytaleheart, Moonfleece (named as one of the 50 Best Works About Cultural Diversity by the National Centre for Children’s Books), the seminal Sparkleshark (the first of the Connections Festival plays for young people to be staged professionally by the National Theatre), and Brokenville; also, Feathers in the Snow (shortlisted for the Brian Way Best Play Award). In 2012 What’s On Stage named Philip a Jubilee Playwright (one of the most influential writers to have emerged in the past six decades).
-
Wiebke Green
Director
Wiebke Green
Director
Wiebke Green trained at the Orange Tree Theatre and as Intern Director to Katie Mitchell on Orlando (Schaubühne Berlin) and Anatomie eines Suizids (Schauspielhaus Hamburg).
Her recent work includes: Dear Martin (Arcola Theatre) multiple Offie-nominated Tarantula (Southwark Playhouse & Arcola Theatre), multiple Offie-nominated The Journey to Venice (Finborough Theatre), Union (Arcola), The New York Times Critics’ Pick The Poltergeist (Southwark Playhouse & Arcola Theatre), Everyone Cares Everyone Understands (Vault Festival), amongst others.
Assistant Direction includes Scrounger (dir. Lily McLeisch, Finborough Theatre), Dealing with Clair (dir. Richard Twyman, Orange Tree), The Frontier Trilogy and Sirenia (dir. Jethro Compton, Edinburgh Fringe).
-
Kit Hinchcliffe
Designer and Production Manager
Kit Hinchcliffe
Designer and Production Manager
Kit trained at Central St Martins College of Art and Design. Since graduating, her work has spanned theatre, dance and installation. She is Co-Artistic Director of Lidless Theatre and regularly collaborates with Architecture Social Club as Designer/Fabricator. Work includes: The Pitch Fork Disney (Kings Head Theatre), Dear Martin (Arcola Theatre), Tarantula (Arcola Theatre), Miss Julie (Park Theatre), Copper Beaches (Corbett Theatre), Leaves of Glass (Park Theatre), Oresteia (Corbett Theatre), The Journey to Venice (Finborough Theatre),The Poltergeist (Arcola Theatre), Camino Real and Cymbeline (Bridewell Theatre), Mapping Gender (BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Cambridge Junction and The Place), A Hideous Monstrous Verminous Creature (The Place), La Bohème (King’s Head Theatre), Boys (Barbican Centre), Festen (Corbett Theatre), Tender Napalm (King’s Head Theatre), Well Lit (Dansstationen Malmö and The Place), Moonfleece (Pleasance), Pebbles (Katzpace), Heroes (Bridge House Theatre), Beetles from the West (Hope Theatre), Fundamentals (Platform TheatreKX).
-
Ciaran Cunningham
Lighting Designer
Ciaran Cunningham
Lighting Designer
Lighting design credits include: The Harder They Come, (Theatre Royal Stratford East) Tambo & Bones (Theatre Royal Stratford East & ATC And UK Tour), Sleeping Beauty (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Shebeen (Nottingham Play House & Theatre Royal Stratford East), A Tale of Us (UK Tour), Stalled (King’s Head Theatre), Tarantula (Arcola Theatre), Gigi & Dar (Arcola Theatre), SKELETON CREW (Donmar Warehouse), Silence (Donmar Warehouse, Tara Theatre), Cinderella (Lyric Hammersmith), Mansfield Park (Watermill Theatre), Hey Duggee (South Bank Centre & Uk & Ireland Tour), An Unfinished Man (The Yard Theatre), The Sh*Ts (Leeds Playhouse & The Bush Theatre), Freedom Project (Leeds Playhouse), Me For The World (Young Vic), Amsterdam (ATC, Orange Tree), Blood Knot (Orange Tree ), One Night In Miami (Nottingham Playhouse, Bristol Old Vic, Home Manchester), Suckerpunch Boom Suite (Barbican Theatre / Nitrobeat).
-
Ben Woodhall
Assistant Director
Ben Woodhall
Assistant Director
Ben trained at the Drama Centre London. In his acting career he worked in the theatre, most notably in a national tour of ‘A View from the Bridge’ and in his critically acclaimed role as John, in ‘The Soul of Wittgenstein’. He has also worked extensively with Lidless Theatre Company, both on devised work and on their production of Phillip Ridley’s ‘Moonfleece’. On screen his credits include BBC’s ‘Eastenders’ and multiple award winning short films.
As a director, Ben directed Exploding Whale’s 2019 productions of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘The Grim’, which sold out at EdFringe 2024 Underbelly and then transferred to The Old Red Lion Theatre. As a writer Ben has written multiple short films , including ‘Prison Boy’ and ‘Kingdom’, both screened in BAFTA accredited festivals.
Ben is also one of the premiere acting coaches in the UK. With over 7 years coaching at the highest level, he has prepared actors to go to set for everything from lead roles on the BBC to joint leads in Netflix movies.
His clients include Staz Nair (Game of Thrones, Virdee), Tracy Ifeachor (Wonka, Showtrial), Pixie Lott , Chuku Modu (Game of Thrones, Out of Darkness), Jim Caesar (Havoc, Baby Reindeer), Charley Palmer-Rothwell (Legend, Industry), Karolina Conchet (The Little Mermaid) and Poppy Ajudha.
-
Rich Lakos
Artwork Photography
-
Olivia Gogh
Assistant Designer
Olivia Gogh
Assistant Designer
Olivia is a theatre maker and designer for performance based in London. She trained at the Royal Drawing School, Glasgow School of Art (BA Hons), and graduated at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2023 with an MA in Design for Performance. She was shortlisted for the Linbury Prize in the same year.
Olivia’s work spans across theatre, dance and opera, with recent credits including Scherzo Opera Ensemble, The Place, and Arcola Theatre. -
Mik Mondlane
Stage Manager
-
Jack Hathaway
Co Lighting Designer