Sitting comfortably? You won’t be at When Darkness Falls

But that’s what happens when you are starring in the tense thriller When Darkness Falls which has pretty high scare factor. The play is one of a whole new batch of works which leave audiences cowering and intrigued in equal measure.

But Tony is hopeful that it offers far more than some scary moments.

“What is great and I really hoped that this would happen,” he said, “is that it gets people talking on the way home in the car - what is a ghost? Do they believe in ghosts?

“At first glance you might think that a play about two people in room - one a history teacher and the other a paranormal expert - sounds a bit dry. But it’s definitely not.

“You’ve basically got someone who’s a believer in the supernatural and one who isn’t and the audience is taken on journey through my character’s reaction to everything that’s being said and experienced.”

Tony plays a sceptical history teacher on the island of Guernsey who is recording a podcast with a paranormal expert on the folklore of the island. As the expert tells five chilling tales, strange things start to happen which makes the teacher begun to question his own beliefs.

“It’s a really intriguing piece,” said Tony who has been part of some of the biggest productions in London’s West End ranging from The Mousetrap to Les Miserables.

“It hasn’t got big moving parts, but there’s something really nice about being able to offer some good, old fashioned storytelling.

“It’s a real listening story. Yes, there are quite a few scares and some very clever illusions but there are just the two of us on one set the whole time batting the ball backwards and forwards to each other.”

Tony admits that being part of two-hander is very demanding.

“I quite like it at this time in my life to have this kind of challenge,” he said. “It gets the little grey cells working that’s for sure. There is no let up, you can’t relax and think ‘I haven’t got anything to say for three or four pages’, it’s constant.

“But I’m lucky to be working with Thomas Dennis who is great and we get on very well. We are both there for each other and I know it sounds a very ‘actory’ thing to say but it gives you the opportunity to do your craft.”

Tony read the script three times before even auditioning for the role.

“I wanted to make sure that it was in me to actually do the part justice,” he said. “And I was intrigued from the outset. It makes you think about lots of things, about loss and how things in your past stay with us and how ghosts affect our lives.

“It is a scary night out at the theatre but I also hope that it is one which makes people discuss what is a ghost.”

It seems strange to some that people actually want to be scared as part of a night out but Tony understands why.

“I think part of us likes to be scared,” he said. “You will always have some people who would not sit down knowing they are going to be scared but it’s like going on a rollercoaster. You get this rush of adrenalin from being scared and then the relief knowing that you are safe again. We like to be frightened and that is definitely part of this production.

“Those moments when people feel scared are great but also there are also those moments when you can hear a pin drop and that’s when, as an actor, you can think ‘they are with us’. That’s happening a lot with this play. You can feel the audience getting drawn in and are listening intently to everything that’s being said. It is a great piece.”

The five tales which the ghost hunter tells are all based on Guernsey folklore raging from tales of witches to the dreadful days of the island’s Nazi occupation.

“All different parts of the country have their own folklore,” said Tony. “Ours are based in the Channel islands but wherever we go with this show audiences will relate. Those stories grew out of something, often there is some kind of documentary evidence although in the telling and re-telling many of these tales will get embellished.

“But ghosts are part of our culture. Whether you believe in them or not doesn’t matter but I think we are all a little bit intrigued; there is a fascination about whether there is life after death. For people who have experienced loss, it’s such a huge thing to deal with that you hope that the person you may have lost is still with you in some way.”

When Darkness Falls and the West End smash 2:22 A Ghost Story have made the supernatural sexy as far as the theatre is concerned.

“Perhaps some of that is down to escapism,” said Tony. “Because of all the challenges we face, perhaps we just want somewhere to escape to for a while.”

Tony is really looking forward to returning to Manchester.

“I spent a year there many moons ago when Les Miserables opened for the first time outside London,” he recalled. “I played Thenardier the innkeeper at the Palace. I will always remember opening night because the set broke down and producer Cameron Mackintosh had to come on stage and tell the celebrity audience the barricades had broken. Les Dawson was in the audience and shouted ‘how does it end?’.

“I also spent a very enjoyable Christmas season at the Library Theatre in the Ghost of Scrooge so I’m very much looking forward to getting back to the city.”

When Darkness Falls, The Lowry, Salford Quays, Monday, February 27 to Saturday, March 4. Details from www.thelowry.com