‘Paranormal Activity’ Stage Show Sets West End Debut (EXCLUSIVE)

“Paranormal Activity” is readying to haunt the London stage.

A new play inspired by the hit horror film franchise will open on the West End this winter. As the official title, “Paranormal Activity: A New Story Live on Stage,” suggests, the show is a new take on the supernatural world rather than a direct adaptation of any of the movies. This production will run at the Ambassadors Theatre for 12 weeks, starting on Dec. 5.

Directed by Felix Barrett (“Sleep No More”) and written by playwright Levi Holloway (Broadway’s thriller “Grey House”), the story follows a couple, James and Lou, who move from Chicago to London and discover a haunting presence in their home. So they use a camera to document the unsettling shadow in their midst. A press release describes the show as a reimagining of the modern ghost story with an “unsettling intimacy only theater can provide.”

“I’m so thrilled that ‘Paranormal’ will have a chance to ensnare and unnerve audiences in London later this year,” says Barrett, who directed the immersive hit “Sleep No More,” which ran at the Manhattan’s McKittrick Hotel for 14 years. “From seeing the advertising campaign of the film 20 years ago, where you watched cinema audiences leap out of their chairs in horror, I have long wondered how you could recreate that visceral reaction in a theater setting. How do you bring one of the most frightening films to life? How do you break the inherent safety that a plush West End theater offers? It’s been an incredible challenge, and we cannot wait to see how London audiences respond.”

Paramount released the original “Paranormal Activity,” which grossed nearly $200 million worldwide against a minuscule budget and kicked off a commercially successful seven-film franchise. The play was first produced at England’s Leeds Playhouse in 2024. Ahead of its London debut, “Paranormal Activity” will embark this fall on a North American tour with stops at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Center Theatre Group and Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC, and American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

“Collaborating with Felix Barrett to create an actual nightmare has been nothing short of a dream,” Holloway says. “Relishing in a shared language of dread, we’ve conspired to create something impossible, mixing the familiar with the uncanny, heart with horror. London audiences have a nose for honesty on stage and little patience for anything else. They’ll find it here, right alongside all the mischief we’ve made to trouble their sleep.”

Adds producer Simon Friend, “It’s been a privilege working with Felix, Levi, the world-class creative team and Paramount to bring this new story to life on stage. It’s bold, terrifying, and after seeing it, you might need to sleep with the lights on…”