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Paranormal Activity makes West End premiere

December 14, 2025

Melting Pot, the independent theatre and film production company, has released production photography for the West End run of Paranormal Activity. Patrick Heusinger and Melissa James will reprise their Leeds Playhouse roles as ‘James’ and ‘Lou’ alongside fellow Playhouse performers Pippa Winslow as ‘Carolanne’ and Jackie Morrison as ‘Etheline Cotgrave’. The West End company welcomes Cheyenne Dasri as Understudy ‘Lou’ and Jake Solari as Understudy ‘James.’

Performances began at the Ambassadors Theatre on December 5th and, following a recently announced extension, now play through to March 28th.

Praised for its inventive storytelling and terrifying atmosphere, the West End transfer promises to amplify the experience even further, making it a must-see event for thrill-seekers and theatre lovers alike. Paranormal Activity is undertaking a North American tour this autumn, where it has recently opened at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, starring Patrick Heusinger, to critical and audience acclaim. The tour will later continue to the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington DC and American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco.

James and Lou move from Chicago to London to escape their past, but they soon discover that places aren’t haunted, people are… Inspired by the iconic, terrifying film series, Paranormal Activity is a new story live on stage.

A new story inspired by the worldwide horror phenomenon, Paranormal Activity, Live is directed by immersive theatre pioneer and Punchdrunk’s Founder and Artistic Director, Felix Barrett and written by playwright Levi Holloway, whose pulse-pounding theatrical thriller Grey House chilled Broadway audiences.

Patrick Heusinger is ‘James’. Theatre roles include originating the role of James in Paranormal Activity (Leeds Playhouse). He joins the West End company after the recent North American Premiere (Chicago Shakespeare Theater and the Ahmanson Theater/Center Theater Group in Los Angeles). Broadway: Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts, dir. Sheryl Kaller, Fiddler on the Roof, dir. David Leveaux. Off Broadway: Next Fall (Naked Angels). Los Angeles: Max in Moises Kaufman’s production of Bent by Martin Sherman (Mark Taper Forum/Center Theater Group). Regional: Lancelot et al,in Spamalot, dir. Mike Nichols (First Nat’l Tour), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Abigail/1702, dir. David Esbjornson (New York Stage and Film). Film: Main villain in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back starring Tom Cruise (Paramount Pictures/Skydance), Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s Frances Ha, Ali Selim’s Sweet Land. Television: currently on Netflix, Absentia (originally Sony/Amazon), Casual (Hulu), Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Royal Pains, 30 Rock, Gossip Girl.

Melissa James plays ‘Lou’. Melissa’s theatrical roles includes: ‘Lou’ in Paranormal Activity: A New Story, Live on Stage (Leeds Playhouse); ‘Helena’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Royal Exchange); ‘Satine’ in Moulin Rouge (Piccadilly Theatre); The Magician’s Elephant (RSC); ‘Louise’ in Gypsy (Royal Exchange Theatre); Wise Children (Old Vic/UK tour); One Love: The Bob Marley Musical (Birmingham Rep); ‘Nikki Maron’ in The Bodyguard, ‘Bombularina’ in Cats (UK tour); Guys and Dolls (Chichester Festival Theatre); ‘Anita’ in West Side Story (RSC/Sage, Gateshead). Television roles include: Castaways (BlackBox Multimedia); The Diplomat (World Productions); Wheel of Time S2 (Amazon Prime); Hard Cell (Netflix/ Leopard Productions); Father Brown (BBC One); Coronation Street (ITV); The Emily Atack Show (ITV); The Split (Sister Pictures); Training Days (Studio M); Ransom (CBS/ Big Light Productions); Dead Pixels (E4); Waffle the Wonderdog (CBBC); Thanks for the Memories (ZDF); Holby City (BBC); Silent Witness (BBC); WPC 56 (BBC); Doctors (BBC). Film roles include: Caribbean Summer (Hallmark); Death on the Nile (Fox UK Productions).

Pippa Winslow performs as ‘Carolanne.’ Theatrical credits include: Bonnie & Clyde (Garrick and Arts Theatres); Eureka Day, Other Desert Cities (Old Vic); Strangers on a Train (Gielgud Theatre); Buried Child (Trafalgar Studios); Paranormal Activity: A New Story, Live on Stage (Leeds Playhouse); Follies (Grand Opera House, Belfast); Flowers for Mrs Harris (Riverside Studios); Mame, Perfectly Ordinary, The Exonerated (Hope Mill Theatre); Oklahoma!, Hairspray, Sister Act, Cougar the Musical, 9 to 5 the Musical, Phantom, The Sound of Music (UK and Ireland tour). TV includes: The Bombing of Pan Am 103 (BBC/Netflix); Silo (AppleTV+); The Crown and Rebecca (Netflix); The King’s Man (Disney+); Ten Percent, The Piper, Jericho Ridge (Amazon Prime); Revolution X; Dead Island 2 (video game).

Jackie Morrison is ‘Etheline Cotgrave’. Theatre Credits include: An Inspector Calls (UK Tour); Love and Other Stories (Arran International Festival); Paranormal Activity: A New Story, Live on Stage (Leeds Playhouse); Local Hero (Chichester Festival Theatre); The Last Ship (US Tour and Canada); Dirty Dancing (Dominion Theatre & UK Tour). Television Credits: Romantic Getaway (Ranga Bee for Sky); Love In Scotland (Heehaw); Black Earth Rising (BBC/Netflix); Coronation Street (ITV); Doctors (BBC); Londongrad (Wind Catcher); Endeavour III (Mammoth Screen); EastEnders (BBC). Radio and Recording Credits: The Eyes of the Soul (BBC Radio 4); The First Person (BBC Radio 4); The Child (BBC Radio 4); Into Exile (BBC Radio 4); Brigadoon (EMI).

Paranormal Activity reimagines the modern ghost story with an unsettling intimacy only theatre can provide. Immersing audiences in an atmosphere of creeping dread, unseen forces, and psychological tension, Levi Holloway’s script offers a bold reinterpretation of the original, blending domestic horror with mind-bending theatricality. Felix Barrett, known for breaking boundaries between audience and performer, brings his signature visionary style to the production. With innovative staging and chilling soundscapes, Paranormal Activity invites audiences to witness the inexplicable up close—and feel the fear in real time.

The creative team also includes Fly Davis as Set and Costume Designer, Illusions by Chris Fisher, Anna Watson as Lighting Designer, Gareth Fry as Sound Designer, Video Design by Luke Halls and Casting Direction by Stuart Burt CDG and Ginny Schiller CDG.

Released by Paramount Pictures in 2009, the original Paranormal Activity is a master class in psychological terror. Reimagining the found footage genre for a new generation, the film became a global sensation, grossing nearly $200 million worldwide and kicking off a blockbuster franchise spanning seven feature films. Now, the legacy of fear comes to the intimate world of the theatre as the terrifying phenomenon transitions to the West End stage.

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