I'm pleased to announce we've just completed our opening weekend of Hampstead halloween pub tour! As I'm sure anyone who's ever been involved in a theatre production can relate, the week before a show kicks off is always a bit of scramble, but I'm happy to say it all came together in the end. Massive thanks to everyone who came along, we very much enjoyed meeting you all. (Hopefully you had as much fun as we did!) I think we're all taking a minute to regroup right now, but very much looking forward to coming back next weekend for more Halloween fun and frolics

The Old Bull and Bush is a new stop on our route this year: A pub with a long and colourful history it first opened its doors in 1721, apparently the artist William Hogarth, (Who was living in the neighbourhood at the time.) designed the gardens. However the pub really had its heyday in the early 1900's when it became the fashionable place to stop off for a drink in Hampstead after a stroll on the heath. Visited by the great and good of the day it was so popular that music hall star Florrie ford even had a hit with a song called 'Down at the old Bull and Bush'
​(see below) I've got to be honest its not really my cup of tea, but then the recording is over 100 years old so we'll give her the benefit of the doubt on this one, and I bet she slayed it live! 

Of course we wouldn't be including the pub in our Halloween festivities if it didn't have a few skeletons lurking in the closet and The Old Bull and Bush has just that - Literally! In 1987 the pub was being refurbished when a rather macabre discovery was made, some builders demolishing an interior wall found a skeleton bricked up inside surrounded by array of victorian surgical implements, possibly the remains of an illegal 1800's autopsy. The body was removed and given a proper burial but rumour hath it the victims unquiet spirit haunts the pub to this very day.... ​​But please don't let that put you off visiting! As this really is a gem of a pub, stylish yet relaxed it boasts a great menu - we particularly like the small plates! As well as a fantastic range of drinks and cocktails, I could happily drink my way through the extensive gin menu, and I have it on good authority that they make mean espresso martini. 
We look forward to meeting our Halloween customers here from Oct 15th-31st 
But you should definitely check it out if your in the Hampstead area.

when researching your local area you discover not just the history, but also whats making it special in the present and we were very excited when we discovered Scared Gin in Highgate village: A small family run distillery founded in 2008 that focuses on producing premium quality vacuum distilled spirits (As the name would suggest, they started with gin but have now branched out to include vodka and whiskey) Their shop (pictured) on Highgate High street is a veritable Aladdin's cave of bottles and distillation equipment, definitely worth a visit if your in the neighbourhood. 

My god this year has rolled around quickly, one minute it was never ending lockdown, then it was never ending rain then before you know it summer's over and it time to start thinking about Halloween again!
It's going to be a good one this year we can take our punters back into pubs again for a start!
Not only that but we've been out plotting a new route so some sights to see, a bit of new history and of course lots of new spooky things..... tickets on sale now, for more info click HERE 

As you can see we've been having great fun with the Docklands tour so we were very sad to have announce the cancellation of one of our shows especially so close to the end of the run, Unfortunately one of our cast is very ill (Don't worry not the dread Covid) but we are vey much hoping that show can resume for the final night tomorrow.
For everyone who has joined us over these past couple of weeks I would also like to say a massive thank you, we have really enjoyed meeting you guys and special thanks to those of you who left reviews we really do appreciate it

well what do you know, tonight is the first night of our brand new show Dark side of Docklands its scary how fast these things roll around, one minute it's a few half formed ideas and a dot on the calendar and then Boom! it's opening night. It's been quite a journey to get to this point and for those of you who've booked we very much hope you  

Recently I was approached by writer and London enthusiast Philipp Rottgers to be a guest on his show 'London Beyond time and place'. Thank you very much Philpp, firstly for  give us a chance to shamelessly promote our forth coming Docklands Tour   and secondly for letting me say 'c*nt' on your show!
Full interview below 

 So Peculiar have returned from a long hibernation to bring you 'Dark side of Docklands' The show we almost brought you in 2020.
Not going to lie, I had some mixed feelings about this, especially considering how much time, effort and money had already sunk into it last year when we had to pull the plug. Fortunately though the positivity and enthusiasm from the crew has really shone through, and made this a really fun production to work on, and even though we having to work around Covid safety regulations I can honestly say I think this going to be a better show that the one we would have brought you last year. April 16th - May 1st, hope you can join us!  

Well its certainly been a bit of a roller coaster ride this Halloween! Firstly with the ever changing government guidelines we weren't sure if there was going to be Halloween tour this year. Then despite getting off to flying start disaster struck and our tour guide Hadley tested positive for the dreaded lurgy, of course the only responsible thing to do in the circumstances was let all our customers know  (A somewhat toe curling experience, rather like having to ring your ex to tell them you have an STD!!! )  Then obviously get tested ourselves...
Currently we are all waiting baited breath for the results while at the same time making contingency plans and ringing round our thespian friends to ensure the show can run this weekend as scheduled. 
For everyone who has come along so far I just want to say a massive thank you for all the kind wishes for Hadley's recovery and all the lovely reviews - we really do appreciate them! 

After such a quiet year its easy to forget just how much work goes into putting on a successful show! We are currently running around like headless chickens putting the finishing touches to this years Halloween tour. Although we have had to change the formula quite a bit to comply with government regulations on Covid its still promises to be a fabulously spooky night out! (Alas tickets have now sold out) but for those of you who have booked we very much look forward to meeting you in 2 weeks time....

A little taster of things to come..... (Photography by the incredibly talented Virginia Vassura)