A dank crypt might sound like an unlikely setting for a piece of environmental theatre, but it was the perfect backdrop for 'The Warnings Project' - a site specific theatre production featuring two of the ghostly tales of M. R. James.

Set in the labyrinthine passageways beneath St Pancras Church, London, and lit only by the occasional swinging lantern, 'The Warnings Project' certainly delivered a chill up the spine as what firstly appeared to be a birthday party quickly turned into something far more bizarre and sinister.

After two jovial welcome hosts announced that it was 'Nick's' birthday, and gestured that several members of the 'audience' new him, they produced a delicious looking chocolate birthday cake, and placed it upon a table strewn with the remains of what looked like a birthday bash the night before - an odd touch was the human hair stuck in the teapot - I never did understand this 'hair' which seemed to be found in clumps around the set, inexplicably they simply added to the questions and the 'mystery' of what was to unfold around us.  As the hosts hurried off into the darkness, a pounding soundscape beckoned the group of 'birthday guests' forward into the inner sanctum of the bowels of the building, where, in a room littered with papers, books and letters, a disembodied voice began regaling the tale of M. R. James 'Count Magnus'.  After some minutes of uncertainty, it became apparent that we were free to explore the environment, and discover the secrets that lie in wait for us.

A clever and artistic mixture of carefully chosen set pieces, suggestive of ghostly tales, could be found in shadowy corners, and the occasional carefully placed prop - a bunch of dead flowers, gravestones, an old coat - held clues as to what would unfold as the show progressed.  In a red carpeted chamber a solitary 'storyteller' could be found - his voice the narration heard in all parts of the crypt, while other performers skulked around, deliciously vacant looks upon their faces, apparently in a 'world' of their own.

Rewards were to be found for those that dared venture around - textures, colours and sounds to be discovered as you walked across, touched, and smelled a variety of props and effects all intended to immerse you in this haunted world.  We discovered a valley of sand in one room, in which had been drawn hearts.  Choosing to interact with the show, we wrote 'hello' and hastily left, returning later to find a reply had been scribed for us to discover.

Encouraged by this response we tried various other interactions with the cast, each was met with an appropriate, and sometimes unexpected, silent response in character - adding suitably to the macabre and eerie atmosphere created by the storyteller and the physical environment.

After the appearance of a variety of tiny messages, which seemed to appear suddenly form nowhere and littered the floors of the crypt, the calm was destroyed by a sudden and very frightening encounter with a woman in a black dress and wearing a gas mask, parading through the passageways in pursuit of a 'caretaker' style character whom made a sensible escape to avoid her.  This nightmare was accompanied by a sudden change of tempo in sound effects as a thumping drumbeat, indicative of a heartbeat, pounded through the tunnels - it was genuinely shocking and somewhat frightening.

During the second M. R. James 'tale' - 'A Warning to the Curious', a deeper understanding to the backstory of 'Nick' became apparent - a card left on a table explained that he had been whisked away to a foreign land and would not be attending his own party - the performers visibly upset and distraught by his disappearance - one even texting him in a quiet corner asking "when will you come back"?

'The Warnings Project' may not have appealed to all, but for those prepared to make the effort to become part of the story and the unique environment, it was an enjoyable, twisted, playful and rewarding experience which I hope will be repeated by the production team at another venue in the future.