If you fancy giving yourself a real Halloween treat this year then you’ll need to get ‘The Comedy of Terrors’ at Middlesbrough Theatre into your life.

John Goodrum has written some cracking plays in his time, often with a spine-tingling bent such as ‘The Signalman’ (based on the chilling Dickens short-story) and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (based on the Poe classic). But one of his best-loved works is ‘The Comedy of Terrors’, which adds a significant amount of farce into proceedings. It begins with Jo Smith arriving for an audition with director Vyvian Jones. Turns out she’s actually been invited by Vyvian’s twin brother Beverley, who wants her to impersonate her own twin sister Fiona, to persuade Vyvian that Beverley hasn’t had a fling with Fiona. Sounds complicated but it’s an ingenious piece that is stuffed with big laughs galore. GM

The Comedy of Terrors, Thursday 31 October, Middlesbrough Theatre, 7.30pm, £18.50, boxoffice.middlesbrough.gov.uk