Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton bring their beloved series, Inside No. 9, to the stage, creating a Frankenstein’s monster of horror-comedy that fans of the television show will enjoy, writes KATHERINE SANKEY
Cast: Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Gaby French, Miranda Hennessy, Bhav Joshi, Sarah Moyle, Rebecca Bainbridge, Mark Extance, Toby Manley, Sophie Suddaby
Director: Simon Evans
Final shows: Eventim Apollo – Hammersmith, 2 January to 6 January 2026
While the well-known anthology series Inside No. 9 might have ended last year, appropriately with its ninth season, the show isn’t quite dead yet. Inside No. 9 / Stage Fright brings the beloved programme to the stage to, quite literally, haunt theatre audiences.
Written by and starring Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, it had a run in London earlier this year before going on tour. It returns to London next year for its final shows, so this review will avoid major spoilers.
Similar to the television series, Stage Fright is not one long narrative but several sketches and stories. The play opens with a brief sketch in which Shearsmith is attempting to watch Hamlet. The few audience members watching with him become so irritating, however, that he soon turns to murderous means.
This ends with a humorous request to silence all phones and segues into a ‘title sequence’ where shadowy images of what is to come are projected onto the curtains, while two live violinists play the No. 9 theme.
Shearsmith and Pemberton then come out on stage to explain that the theatre is meant to be haunted by an actress who died during a production of the play La Terreur de L’asile. It is this Deadline-like conceit which effectively holds the show together, existing both in the world on stage and breaking through the fourth wall to scare us.
Once this has been done, we move to the next section, which is basically a repeat of the classic Inside No. 9 episode ‘Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room’. This is a nice call-back, as the tale is both funny and emotional.
There is also some new material cleverly inserted here – a sketch written by one of the characters. This skit centres on a kidnapping and reminded me somewhat of the episode ‘A Quiet Night In’.
This is also where the guest star turns up, and as someone who has seen this show twice, having a different personality each time is lots of fun. The scene has been written to make the guest engage in some improv, trying an accent here or a dance there, and it was great to see how each person reacted to the prompts.
After this, the original episode section is completed and the interval takes place – after some spooky happenings on stage.
The second half is full of much more new material, as it follows a company rehearsing a revived production of the ill-fated play La Terreur de L’asile. Unfortunately, to explain any more beyond this point might spoil a few twists. However, I can say that the whole thing builds to an enjoyably musical ending.
On the production side, I was impressed with the effects involving the ghost and a rather gory moment involving a leg. The asylum set in the second half was also great, being both grimy yet colourful.
Altogether, I think the show was excellent, and would recommend it to fans of the television show. It maintains almost all the elements of the original series – twists, dark humour, guest stars and emotional moments.
It is worth noting, however, that the stage play does have a slightly lighter tone than the TV show. The dark jokes and drama never go quite as far as episodes like ‘The Riddle of the Sphinx’. I think this was a good choice though, since it makes it more accessible to those unfamiliar with the show, like a friend of mine who came along.
I also think it was a good idea to finish on a more upbeat note, as Inside No. 9 / Stage Fright does. The show is, after all, a comedy – for all its horror and death – and it was wonderful to finish the whole experience with a song!
