The Highgate Vampire transfers to The Cockpit

Based on the true events of one of London’s most infamous urban legends, The Highgate Vampire parodies the unusual happenings surrounding vampire sightings in London’s Highgate Cemetery. In 1970s London, a series of vampire sightings sparked a media frenzy and public fascination, leading to groups of vampire hunters invading the cemetery to search for and slay the entity, desecrating graves in the process. Following an uneasy alliance between a demon-hunting Priest and his sworn adversary – a man who works as a tobacconist by day and a vanquisher of the undead by night – The Highgate Vampire retells the outrageously true story as a scientific lecture about vampire hunting. Drawing on influences from The Mighty Boosh, Matt Berry and Monty Python, writers and performers James Demaine and Alexander Knott retell the legend with ink-dark humour and a retro-style of gothic horror storytelling, featuring absurd re-enactments, original music and even a séance.

Following its run at The Glitch in May 2025, the production plays at Omnibus Theatre in December before moving to The Cockpit as the inaugural Stephen Joseph Transfer, a new programme offering one company from The Glitch’s spring season a full week to develop and deliver their work in the round at The Cockpit.

Writers and performers James Demaine and Alexander Knott said, “We are beyond thrilled to have been named the inaugural recipients of this transfer. To have the opportunity to bring the audience closer to our tale and really tell them the story through the in-the-round form, is a brilliant challenge. Stephen Joseph was a pioneer of this way of working and we can’t wait to bring this outrageous, spooky comedy to The Cockpit in his name.”

Bag of Beard Theatre are an award-winning theatre collective, known for their stripped back storytelling, collaborative script writing and devising, with original words and original music. Previous projects include The Messiah Complex (VAULT, 2023), Cratchit(Park Theatre, 2021), Buried (Old Red Lion Theatre & Seven Dials Playhouse, 2019), and Renaissance Men (London and Manchester Tour, 2018).

Running Time: 70 mins (no interval) | Suitable for ages 13+