Birmingham Hippodrome and Wales Millennium Centre have got together to stage a “unique” show for Christmas 2014, The Frozen Scream.
It is written by Olivier Award-winning performer and writer Christopher Green and best-selling novelist Sarah Waters.
Directed by Green, who will also perform, The Frozen Scream tells the story of a group of friends stranded in an abandoned lodge. They entertain themselves with a tale of Jack Frost, but fictional horror slips into reality as events escalate in unexpected ways.
The original novel, written by English novelist C C Gilbert, was popular when it was published in 1928 but fell out of favour when a series of mysterious deaths led to the belief that the novel was cursed.
The collaboration between Birmingham Hippodrome and Wales Millennium Centre arose from a shared desire to offer audiences an alternative form of Christmas entertainment.
The Frozen Scream is the first play to be written by Sarah Waters, whose novels include Tipping the Velvet (1998), Fingersmith (2002) and The Little Stranger (2009).
Green said, “When I started thinking about the show, my ideas kept resonating with my memories of Sarah’s book The Little Stranger. Having been a fan of Sarah’s work since reading Tipping the Velvet, I was very keen to collaborate with her.
“Although this feels like such a new way of working for us both, it's remarkable how smooth the creative process has been so far. As long as the curse doesn't kick in, we'll be rocking, I reckon.
“I love to surprise my audiences and The Frozen Scream will definitely do that, sending good, old-fashioned chills up the spine!”
Paul Kaynes, creative programme director at Birmingham Hippodrome, added, “Christopher Green, already presenting Ida Barr’s Mash Up at our forthcoming Summer in Southside, and Sarah Waters are an extremely exciting creative combination, providing an alternative evening out at the theatre over the festive season.”
The Frozen Scream runs at Wales Millennium Centre from 11 until 20 December before transferring to Birmingham Hippodrome from Wednesday 7 January until Saturday 17 January.