A Game of Candles

Tim Ralphs and Sarah Liisa Wilkinson

In Edo period Japan, a night time game of one hundred flickering candles and one hundred supernatural tales became a widespread folk phenomenon - Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai. After each teller finished their story, a candle would be extinguished, plunging the room, by small degrees, into a darkness filled with ever more hungry ghosts...

Tim and Sarah Liisa will share stories from around the world chosen to reflect the ghosts they feel most urgently gnawing away at us. Ravenous flying heads; demon masks that possess the wearer; faceless ghosts; goblin-rats, women made of snow; seductive statues; warrior monks; abandoned farmhouses; haunted bridges; mountaintops; and lonely roads...

This is a hybrid event, so you can attend live either in-person or online. Using the participatory nature of the game, our superlative storytellers will unite all listeners on a shared journey into the lightless places, inviting haunting presences into the theatre and the intimacy of our own homes. Join them as they pay tribute to this unnerving folk custom.

For those of you joining online, detailed instructions will be sent nearer the time for how to join in with the game at home. Watch out for them in your inbox. For those visiting the festival in person everything you need will be provided on the night.

If you are attending in person, please ensure you buy the correct ticket type as digital ticket holders will not be admitted.