Horror theatre · Folklore · The craft of fear
Stories that refuse to leave.
Cursed Tea Productions makes horror for the stage and the ear, rooted in the legends of the West Midlands, and researches how theatre-makers create fear.
The Communication of Fear
How is fear made, and why does it endure?
Fear is one of humanity's oldest forms of communication. It travels through folklore, ghost stories, theatre, print and the internet, changing shape as it goes.
Every Cursed Tea project explores that journey from a different angle: on stage, in sound, and in the archive.
Research
A practice-based framework for creating effective horror theatre, bringing horror studies and theatre studies together.
Read more →Productions
Horror theatre that works as a research laboratory, where ideas about fear are tested with performers.
See the work →The podcasts
FOAF, telling the stories we swear are true, and Ostension, original horror audio dramas based on West Midlands legends.
Find out more →Ostension · Episode one
Who put Bella in the wych elm?
In 1943, four boys found a woman's remains inside a hollow tree in Hagley Wood. A year later, chalked words began to appear on walls across the Midlands. Our pilot episode follows the legend from graffiti to stage, and builds a new audio drama from its fragments.
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