Christmas: a time to remember the past, celebrate the present, and look to the future; a time of feaand festivities, of holly and mistletoe; a time of visits and visitations. A time of ghosts.

Come in from the cold and enter the Christmas spirit as a dark, spectral woman tells haunting tales for the festive season, lighting a candle to the frailties of human nature and illuminating the icy, chilling depths of the bleak, wintry dark…

Christmas Gothic is the latest production from St Albans company Dyad Productions, the creators of award-winning plays including Dalloway, The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe, Austen’s Women, I, Elizabeth and The Diaries of Adam and Eve.

Local audiences can enjoy a sneak preview of Christmas Gothic before it goes on tour next month, with The Maltings Theatre hosting a performance tonight at 8pm - tickets are just £12 from here, St Albans Tourist & Information Centre or by calling 0333 666 3366.