Are there ghosts afoot or is it merely synchronicity that sees two terrific ghost stories brought to the stage with days of each other, despite a year or more of planning? The first is the more famous main stage The Woman in Black – with its two charismatic stars, John Waters and Daniel McPherson. Following closely behind, and with a miniscule fraction of the budget, comes Tugun Theatre Company’s community theatre production of The Haunting, a play by Hugh James adapted from several ghost stories by Charles Dickens. Both are essentially two handers and succeed in their own way and for their own demographics - but if you ask me which has the most genuine thrills and terrors, then Nathan Schulz’s modest production at Tugun wins hands down.

This reviewer was lucky to see the West End hit production The Women in Black recently at the Playhouse, QPAC which set the bar for horror ghost stories, and with the resources available to them Tugun Community Theatre put on a story that would rival even this professional productions.

Get ready for a campy and comical quest filled with a terrifying phantom, a not-so-psychic fortune teller, and a questionable couple running the fairgrounds. But that’s not all—this gang will also confront their own burgeoning sexual desires, indulge in tasty dog treats with unexpected side effects, and even discover a surprise talent for busting a move. Say goodbye to innocent Saturday morning cartoons, because this one will leave you seeing them in a whole new light.

Tugun Theatre Company is a small but adventurous group on the southern end of the Gold Coast and their latest offering is something quite confronting.