Wiltshire police were called following Frankenstein’s rehearsal screams

A dramatic rehearsal of a gothic horror play ended with the police being called after a worried couple heard bloodcurdling screams.

Wiltshire’s Bradfordians Dramatic Society were going over their lines for Nick Dear’s production of Frankenstein – a stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel.

They were rehearsing one particularly grueling scene where the monster “beats someone to death” at around 9.30pm BST on Saturday night in the Tithe Barn in Bradford on Avon.

Wiltshire Police said: “Officers attended the scene and found that the screams were in fact part of a theater group rehearsing inside the venue.”

The story follows the plight of Victor Frankenstein, a natural science student who creates an artificial human from pieces of stolen corpses before bringing them to life.

He believes his discovery will lead to new scientific advances, but is filled with fear and disgust when his creation turns against him.

“As you can imagine, there are some pretty dark scenes in Frankenstein,” said Andrew Morrison, director of the theater company.

“It’s pretty scary, there’s a few dead, it’s violent in places.”

Mr Morrison said the group wanted to rehearse at the time of night they would be playing the scene, which may have contributed to the couple’s worries.

“They were quite scared,” Mr Morrison said.

“I felt a bit guilty actually because it can’t be much fun for them.

“But they were very good about it and saw the funny side almost immediately,” he added.

Wiltshire Police said they were called shortly before 10pm BST to reports of “concerns for the welfare of individuals” after “screams were heard coming from inside” the 14th-century barn.

“We would like to thank the public who did the right thing by reporting this information so we can make sure no one is at risk of harm,” they said.

Mr Morrison says “with hindsight”, they will notify the police of future repetitions.