The Enfield Haunting: How A Poltergeist Was No Match For Catherine Tate’s ‘Peggy’
As The Enfield Haunting heads towards its final performance — the production enjoyed a limited run at London’s Ambassador’s Theatre — it’s clear from the audience’s response that the show resonated with fans who attended night after night.
Written by Paul Unwin and directed by Angus Jackson, the play is based on the true-life events of one family who experienced a poltergeist haunting in 70’s Britain. The Enfield Haunting promised enough chills and scares to impress fans of ghost stories, of which there have been plenty over the years in London’s West End. The Woman in Black, Phantom of the Opera and 2:22 A Ghost Story, to name a few, have been bringing the scares to those who love the live experience of theatre.
When The Enfield Haunting arrived, fans of supernatural drama flocked to see it, essentially selling out the show night after night (or close to it). It seems clear that fans who watched it loved it. Starring Catherine Tate (Hard Cell, Queen of Oz) as the tormented and exhausted mother Peggy, and David Threlfall (Shameless, Funny Woman) as the seasoned paranormal investigator, the production took a deep look at the lives, relationships and troubles of one normal family as they faced the seemingly impossible.
Although the play was certainly full of creepy atmosphere and perfectly timed jump-scares, it was the very real and solid members of the family who brought the true emotion and power to the stage. It was hard not to come away from the show feeling that central character, Peggy Hodgson (Tate) was the ultimate centre of the drama. Peggy had become a mother so exhausted, broken and terrified that the reality of her everyday life was crushing her with its endless pressure. Tate’s portrayal was maternal and warm, yet her spirit was pressed against the sharp edges of her troubled home life, and this became clear with her increasing sadness and emotional outbursts.
In The Enfield Haunting, the audience watched the evolution of the Hodgson family as they suffered their terrifying ordeal, yet it was also a fully formed depiction of one woman’s evolution as she fought to be heard and to regain control of her life. Whether it was because of the incessant investigations of “ghost hunter” Maurice Grosse (Threlfall), or the neighbour desperate to install himself into Peggy’s life; her troubled children each vying for her attention or the “ghost” himself who was a bullying and imposing presence, The Enfield Haunting showed how Peggy wrestled to be heard. Tate’s powerful and harrowing performance created the focus and true spiritual journey of the entire production. From being ignored and silenced, we watched as Peggy finally found her voice and grabbed back everything that was being stolen from her: her life, her home, her family.
The Enfield Haunting showed how Peggy wrestled to be heard. Tate’s powerful and harrowing performance created the focus and true spiritual journey of the entire production. From being ignored and silenced, we watched as Peggy finally found her voice and grabbed back everything that was being stolen from her: her life, her home, her family.
The Enfield Hunting was certainly a ghost story, but much more than that, it was a drama about family. With incredible performances from Grace Molony, Noah Leggot and Ella Shrey-Yeats (casted as Peggy’s three children in turmoil) each youngster depicted perfectly the complexity of naive childhood fears running up against rebellion and angst. It is clear that director Angus Jackson has created a dark masterpiece; at once an all-encompassing horror, and yet also the most delicate and intricate exploration of a struggling family in 70’s Enfield.
Character Peggy Hodgson was beautifully represented. Whatever Catherine Tate has planned next for her career, this latest West-End production has shown her many fans that she is an artist clearly capable of the unexpected. Watching her depiction of Peggy in The Enfield Haunting has been a reminder that Tate cannot be boxed in by expectations — and that her aptitude for change, evolution and adaption as an actress is truly without limits.
