If you've never been to the Galleries of Justice, you maybe aren't aware that the Shire Hall building which houses it was used as courts and a prison from the 18th Century until recent times. With so much history of suffering within its walls, it's not surprising that ghost hunters (and the museum's staff) regard it as a hotbed of paranormal activity.

The creepy cells and caves that lie under the majestic building make a perfect setting for this dark theatre piece. Desecration is not just a play where one sits passively observing. There are numerous characters acting in different parts of the building and one must follow them or hunt around to find the scenes of the story. At times you interact with the actors, or one of them may take your arm and lead you to the next scene. As the night progresses, your task is to uncover the whole story but your experience will depend on where you were and when.
 
The action is set in Deluge, a hidden realm somewhere between Heaven and Hell and concerns Edward Wells who must discover why his family has been cursed for generations. I don't want to give away all the wonderful scenes in the play, but if you leave Desecration without having been chased by demons, locked in a cell or had a half-naked bald man with bloodshot eyes screaming a prayer into your face, then you've missed out. It was sometimes quite disconcerting to be in a room of performers acting intense scenes in near darkness, particularly as the actors often outnumber the audience members present.

The company use the unique space provided by the Shire Hall to great effect and you get a far better feel for the atmosphere of this amazing building than you would from their ordinary tours. The actors keep performing even without an audience present, so as you stand in the prison courtyard you can hear the screams and shouts echoing through the cells and courtrooms. The lights are turned down low and at times you are left in complete darkness. The creators of this work have avoided cheap scares to make you jump. Rather, they have created a unique and very immersive experience that was genuinely scary at times.


The main criticism of Desecration is that it was difficult to form any idea of the plot or to follow the different strands of the story. All of the audience seemed to be completely bewildered by what was actually happening. Partly, perhaps, this is because the conceit of the story and the language are a little over-elegant (pretentious?) and partly due to the audience not knowing how to make the most of the performance.
 
Given the difficulty of following the plot, here are a few tips for making the most of your stay in the realm of Deluge. Firstly, read the plot synopsis before you begin. Try to follow one character through the building to see their whole story. Since the performance repeats after a while, you can follow other characters at other times. Lastly, whilst you don't want to be getting in the actors' way, don't be afraid to poke your head around corners or chase them when they run away.
 
I bumped into some other audience members in the pub after the performance and confirmed that they also had been wholly confused by the plot but we all agreed that we'd had a wonderful and totally unique experience that made a lasting impression. Ordinary theatre will seem dull in comparison.


Desecration runs until Sunday 9th September at The Galleries of Justice.
See http://www.frightnights.co.uk/desecration/ for more information.