Catherine Tate to star in Enfield poltergeist West End show

Catherine Tate is to play Peggy Hodgson, who called on paranormal investigators to solve the poltergeist mystery at her home

A play about the Enfield poltergeist which was said to have wreaked havoc in a north London council house in the 1970s is to come to London's West End.

The Enfield Haunting is based on the story of a family who claimed they were haunted by a supernatural force.

It will star comedian and actress Catherine Tate who will play Peggy Hodgson, a single mother who is trying to protect her children.

Tate said she was "thrilled" to be part of the show.

The paranormal activity was said to have centred around Peggy's oldest daughter at the property in 284 Green Street in Enfield.

Sixteen-year-old Janet was described as being possessed and was reportedly seen floating 6ft (1.8m) in the air by the local lollipop lady.

Furniture and toys were also said to have moved around of their own accord, although some thought it was a hoax.

The four Hodgson children - Janet, Margaret, Billy and Johnny Hodgson - pictured in 1978 at their home on Green Street

Shameless actor David Threlfall will also feature in the play as ghost hunter Maurice Grosse with the show taking place over one spring night.

It is based on the account of one of the ghost hunters who visited the house and has been written by Paul Unwin.

Unwin said as part of his research he spent time with Guy Lyon Playfair - a poltergeist expert who had tried to help the Hodgson family and has now died.

"He and Maurice Grosse had spent months with the Hodgson family trying to protect them, but also make sense of what was going on," he said.

"What Guy told me was terrifying. So much of what appears to have happened was impossible to fake and yet at the centre of the whole thing were real people trying to make sense of their lives."

He added that the play was "a psychological ghost story. It is a ghost story for now".

The story was previously told in a TV drama series in 2015.

The Enfield Haunting will first be staged at Brighton Theatre Royal and Richmond Theatre before moving to The Ambassadors Theatre in London from 30 November to 2 March 2024.

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