The Highgate Vampire
21 December 2025
Omnibus Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
The Highgate Vampire is a new dark comedy by Bag of Beard Theatre, running at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham until 30 December. Based on a true story, it dives into the urban myth of the mysterious red-eyed figure seen around Highgate cemetery in the 1970s, sparking public panic, grave desecrations, and a wide-reaching vampire panic in London.
Set up as a lecture presented to CLOAK, the Centre for Locating Occult and Arcane Knowledge, demon hunting priest Patrick Sheffield and his sworn enemy David Farringdon, tobacconist by day and supernatural researcher by night, aim to present the story of how they slew the Highgate Vampire. All by themselves. Without any help.
The grandiose and self-important priest is appalled by the shamanic antics of Farringdon, while the latter believes Sheffield to be a pompous liar. Trying to work together, the two continually undermine each other, leading to hilarious antics that lighten the mood of the dark tale. There is so much bickering and infighting between the two, punctuating the production with funny sidebars and endearing mishaps. Re-enacting a plethora of witness accounts before delving into the mad night when the public decided to unearth bodies at the popular cemetery to find the vampiric culprit, this dark comedy really leans into the slap-sticky absurdity of the underlying story, drawing from a rich tapestry of supernatural myths and practices.
The animosity between the two main characters adds another layer of entertainment, weaving a hilarious tale around a dark subject, exploring an urban panic that is still a mystery to this day. A masterful dark comedy that benefits from frantic humour and fantastic acting.
