Review: The Unquiet (Original Theatre). ★★★★ Jemma Redgrave leads a sharp E. Nesbit adaptation. Atmospheric audio drama that relies on dread
I fully admit that I am only posting this 'cos I love the photo of Jemma they've used! 😜
Podcast Review: The Unquiet — The Mass for the Dead (Original Theatre)
By WJ Quinn Jan 9, 2026 3:00 PM
There is something arguably fitting about stumbling upon a ghost story a month (the show launched in December) after it first whispered into the ether. Ghost stories, by their nature, wait for you. They linger in the corner until you are ready to pay attention. In this case, the spectre in question is the opening episode of Original Theatre’s new podcast series, The Unquiet, specifically a dramatisation of E. Nesbit’s The Mass for the Dead.
For those whose knowledge of Nesbit begins and ends with The Railway Children or the Psammead, this tale offers a bracing splash of cold water. Adapted here by Max Pappenheim and Philip Franks, the script wastes no time with the cosy; it is sharp, efficient, and slickly integrates narration with drama.
The result is a production where exposition is largely banished, leaving the star-studded trio of Jemma Redgrave, Philip Franks, and Susie Blake free to inhabit characters that feel lived-in, their histories stretching out long before and after our brief eavesdropping session.
Pappenheim, who also directs and provides the music, has constructed a soundscape of some intelligence. It eschews the naff tricks often plaguing audio drama—there are no sudden, ear-splitting shrieks designed to force a cheap jump. Instead, the terror is cumulative. From the ticking clock suggesting a memoirist scribbling in a darkened study, to the murmur of voices echoing down the years to gnaw at the narrator’s sanity, the audio is immersive and properly “headphone-mandatory”. The blend of ecclesiastical echoes and locomotive mechanicals is deployed artfully, acting as an assistant to the drama rather than a distracting afterthought.
And what a sting it is, particularly when viewed through the enlightened lens of the 21st century. There is a specific, grim amusement to be found in the narrative role reversal at play here.
While Nesbit likely intended us to tremble for the narrator, performed with suitable gravity, his rather deep-seated misogyny makes it difficult for a modern ear to offer him much sympathy.
In fact, it becomes remarkably easy to cheer for his beloved’s eucatastrophic return to good spirits, and more challenging to care for his self-inflicted fears of retribution from the ghost of an odious man who tried to buy his fiancée.
The Unquiet claims to offer “stories for dark nights,” and on the evidence of this opening 30 minutes, it delivers. It is a quality production that treats the medium of audio drama with the respect it deserves, allowing a great story to speak—or rather, whisper—for itself.
Look for the next episode of ‘The Unquiet’ when it’s released early this year. Based on the evidence of this debut, this is a podcast that promises to be an atmospheric and intimate treat for fans of audio theatre.
You can find The Unquiet: Stories for Dark Nights wherever you find your podcasts. For more on Original Theatre and their other shows, click here.
