A NIGHTMARE love story set in the foggy underworld of Jack the Ripper's London will send a shiver down the spine at Lancaster's Dukes Theatre this weekend.

With the dark nights setting in, artistic director Ian Hastings has dusted off a little-known script which takes the audience on an eerie journey through shadowy gas-lit streets into Madame Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors.

The Lodger, an adaptation of a novel by Patrick Prior, has only ever been performed once before and was considered by Ian to be suitably sinister for this, the witching season.

"It's an odd one, very spooky, dark and gothic," said Ian, who discovered the script by accident.

"I was in the Dukes office and saw it laying around so I give it a read. I thought it would be perfect for this time of year and knew straight away who should be in it."

Mr and Mrs Bunting live in the shadows of Whitechapel and need a lodger to make ends meet.

Cue the arrival of Mr Sleath, an educated gentleman who brings more than money to the Bunting household.

Playing the wicked Mr Sleath is Alun Raglan, who, like most people, knew nothing about The Lodger, it's plot or characters.

"It's always great fun to play the bad guys," said Alun, who's making his third visit to the Dukes. "Sleath is a very dark character and he's got a organised nastiness about him. He appears respectable but he carries round a bag full of knives! It can be difficult sometimes to play sinister roles, too much and it can become comic, but among the wax work dummies, the fog, the echoes and whispers, it really does get very spooky."

On one level The Lodger is a love story as Mrs Bunting, played by Stirling Gallagher, begins to fall for Sleath's charms.

"Mrs Bunting's marriage is fraught with bitterness and although her husband will do anything for her she is uptight and unfulfilled," explains Stirling. "She's attracted to Sleath because he's what she aspires to - an educated gentleman. She falls for him and eventually ends up protecting him. The more I got into the play the more I realised just how challenging the role is. As the story unfolds she finds herself in a nefarious love affair, an imbroglio from which she is unwilling to escape. I'm very excited about this play. I think it's going to be well worth a look."

The writer who adapted the play, Patrick Prior, is coming to Lancaster especially to see the opening night on Friday, November 3, and The Lodger will run at the Dukes until November 25.

To book your tickets call the box office on 01524 66645.