Northern Ireland’s longest-established theatre production company, Big Telly Theatre Company, commissioned and presented the new musical The Haunting of Helena by award-winning writer and composer Paul Boyd and novelist and playwright Bernie McGill on tour across Ireland in 2010, directed for the stage by Zoë Seaton.

Late one night, twenty-something Susan breaks into a dark and dusty room at a deserted, derelict linen mill in Belfast.  Her recently-departed grandfather has, for some reason, left her the key to the building with a note that reads, “Go inside and you’ll be safe”.

Inside, Susan is shocked to find Maggie - a confused, disoriented old woman in her eighties.  As the night progresses - and her father comes to find her - Susan finds herself trapped in a twisted family saga where myth and reality seem confused, where past and present seem to co-exist.

The Irish Times said of the show, “the songs would find a home on any commercial stage”, The Stage said, “Boyd’s perennially catchy songs fairly speed the plotline through the surprising twists and turns of an affluent but dysfunctional family saga”, and Culture Northern Ireland wrote, “The Haunting of Helena is a powerful, clever play that explores the cruelty of class and the frangibility of identity”.

Two songs from the show, ‘Invisible’ and ‘Cut Above The Rest’, were shortlisted for the 2010 Stiles & Drewe Prize for Best Song from a New Musical; ’Cut Above The Rest’ was selected to represent the show as finalist, and the song was performed at the awards ceremony in June at The Queen's Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue.

“The “terrible tragic tale of Helena Blunden” is a ghost story which refuses to be exorcised.  Writer Bernie McGill and composer/writer Paul Boyd have resurrected the ghost of Helena in this neat little 90-minute musical, stylishly directed for Big Telly by Zoe Seaton.  

Diego Pitarch’s rickety set perfectly recaptures the dusty, crumbling interior of the now silent mill, while Conleth White’s lurid green lighting lends it something of the atmosphere of that much bigger West End extravaganza Wicked.  There is a curious mix of the homespun and the sophisticated about this entertaining show ... the songs are possessed with Boyd’s familiar musical swagger and would find a home on any commercial stage – though there is something slightly queasy in a catchy number about self-harm, whose chorus tells us that 'Susan was a cut above the rest'.”  Irish Times

“Throwing in a bit of sex, violence and a hint of droit du seigneur, McGill’s script takes a hoary old ghost story – a Helena Blunden fell to her death in a linen mill in the Markets in 1912 – in an unexpected direction and turns it into something quite clever.  It sounds simple enough, but McGill’s writing spins the story in circles, distracting with details every time the truth threatens to be revealed.  

The story ties itself neatly together at the end, providing the attentive watcher with a number of satisfying ‘ah ha’ moments. Zoë Seaton’s direction and nicely restrained turns from the actors keep the tension high and the audience engaged as the story winds its way towards a climax.  An effective piece of physical theatre.  

Helena’s drifting, mournful songs blend into the narrative well and enhance, rather than distract from, the atmosphere.  ‘Cut Above the Rest’ is powerfully delivered and visually arresting ...  On the whole The Haunting of Helena Blunden is a powerful, clever play that explores the cruelty of class and the frangibility of identity.”  culturenorthernireland