REVIEW: THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE @ OMNIBUS THEATRE

🎭 The Highgate Vampire

📍 Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common North Side, London, SW4 0QW

🗓 Thursday 18th December 2025

⭐️⭐️

LACKING BITE

A dark comedy based on a real life urban legend about a vampire in 1970s London sounded exactly my kind of thing, but unfortunately I found THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE to be thoroughly disappointing.

I wanted to love this, I really did. I've never seen a show from Bag of Beard before but have heard about their distinct, gritty energy, but here the whole thing felt remarkably dated. The script felt like it had been pulled from a dusty drawer marked '1990s Fringe Sketches' and given a quick polish that didn't quite take.

Instead of leaning into the genuine atmospheric creepiness of the Highgate legend, we're served a barrage of bad jokes that land with a thud. There is a desperate energy to the performances - lots of shouting and frantic movement - that feels like the cast are chasing laughs that simply never come. It's exhausting to watch a show try this hard to be "wacky" when the material just isn't supporting the effort.

There are moments where the production tries to channel a Mighty Boosh or League of Gentlemen vibe, but it lacks the surrealist bite or the tight character work needed to pull it off. Instead of being "riotous", it felt repetitive and quite frankly I was bored. By the halfway mark, the novelty of the bickering priest and occultist had well and truly worn off.

It's a real shame as the source material is ripe for a much sharper, more sophisticated bit of storytelling than what's currently on stage. In my opinion, this one seriously needs to go back to the drawing board.

This really could have been something special, and I'm slightly aghast at how wrong they got it. It's obvious a lot of energy has gone into creating this piece, but it seems to have severely lost its way. For a show that calls itself a "dark comedy", it was about as scary as the Teletubbies in a meadow, and distinctly unfunny.

Unfortunately this just doesn't match up to the calibre of Fringe Theatre that I'm used to seeing in London. If I were a teacher marking this as a piece of work, it would definitely be receiving a "must do better" stamp.

I'm not underestimating the work that has gone into curating this play, indeed that is one of the reasons for this show not being given the lowest star rating, it's just that it needs to focus more on the story and less on trying to be something it isn't.

Of course, these are just my personal opinions, and we can't all love everything. If you're interested in making your own mind up, THE HIGHGATE VAMPIRE continues performances at the Omnibus Theatre until 30th December.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of The Highgate Vampire was gifted by Chloe Nelkin Consulting who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Alexander Knott as Sheffield; James Demaine as Farringdon

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 10 minutes, with no interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Occasional bad language

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