Ghost Stunters is one of the many great shows I have seen or will see at Know Theatre Cincinnati’s spooky and fun-filled OctKNOWber Nights series.
The Plot of Ghost Stunters
A to Z Productions offers up a spooky, heartwarming, and hilarious halloween tale in Ghost Stunters. First appearing in the Know Theatre’s Serials program, Ghost Stunters follows a Ghost Adventure’s style reality television show.
Ghost Stunters, the TV show, needs a hit episode as they have been demoted from Syfy to the Travel Channel. Their show is barely surviving cancellation and has come to…Cincinnati, Ohio. They are in Cincinnati to interview and document the haunting of the Banquo family. In order to help deal with their Mother Mary’s grief, Dutch and Casper Banquo have been using their special effects wizardry and acting skills to fake a haunting, as their late father promised that he would haunt their house. Eventually weird things happen that neither twin can explain, leaving the family and Ghost Stunters crew to try unravel the mystery.
Performances
Strong work all around. Every performer made me laugh and at moments cry, but I will highlight a few. Zach Robinson as the Kind of European Psychic Francois is hilarious in every scene he is in. Channeling part Lazlo Cravensworth, part Liberace, the over the top performance is an excellent bit of comic relief. Zoey Peterson as Dutch is an angsty rage-filled, clearly grieving skeptic. There are certainly funny moments, but Dutch is grieving and angry. Peterson brings this out incredibly well in just about every line.
Finally I would be remiss to not talk about Emily Borst’s performance as Connor Castles, a clear parody of Ghost Adventure’s host Zak Baggins. Borst portrays Castles as a massive self-centered sleazeball for pretty much the entire show. While they do become more pleasant by the end they are still a vain, rating obsessed, and willing to lie their way back to the Syfy channel. Borst does an admirable job of making Castles likable. The amazing Merritt Beishel plays Mary Banquo. They tie the entire performance together with a wide range, a good laugh, and above all a both heartbreaking and yet fun story writ over every inch of her performance.
The Process
Ghost Stunters (October 17-19, 2025) was originally a piece in January’s annual Know Theatre’s Serials program. It vastly expanded from a series of five interactive 15-minute short pieces into a 2 act play. The creative team of Zach Robinson and Alex Rouse, or A to Z Productions, have frequently created new and exciting theatre. I am a fan of theirs admittedly and I cannot wait to see what they do next.
Bottom Line
Support the Know Theatre’s OctKNOWber programming, and support local art made by your home town artists. This is why we #lovecincytheatre.
Upcoming OctKNOWber Shows
- Musical Madhouse: Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, October 26 at 2 pm
- Broadway hits with a horrifying twist. Musical Madhouse features Cincinnati’s top talent performing musical theatre songs reimagined with a sinister spin. Featured Performers*: Maddie Vaughn, Caleb Redslob, Stixen Stones, Ashley Morton, Rachel Wright, Michael Wright, Aura Tannen and Michael Kennedy aka Bard & Bandit.
- Show Us Your Weird: Wednesday, October 29 at 7:30 pm
- Erika MacDonald presents SHOW US YOUR WEIRD. AMERICAN HORROR STORY meets AMERICA’S GOT TALENT in a one-night-only cabaret of the strange, spooky, and “What the F*** Was That?!” moments you’ll be telling your friends about for years. Come in costume. Win prizes. Leave changed. Ages 18+. Warnings: We don’t know either.
- Nosferatu (1922 Film) with Innerspace Collective (Improvised Music): Thursday, October 30 at 7:30 pm
- Presented by Kevin James Thornton’s Shamala Hamala. Watch the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu with a live improvised soundtrack by Innerspace Collective.
