According to press materials, the four short plays explore the theatre of horror as they reinvent Grand Guignol for the 21st century, interspersed with magic, cabaret from award-winning songstress Sarah-Louise Young, and other eerie oddities for the Halloween season.

LaBute, who was most recently represented in the West End by a production of his play Fat Pig and on the fringe by This is How It Goes at the King's Head, has written The Unimaginable. Directed by Jason Lawson, it is described as a stark and disturbing exploration of the psyche of a killer.

Ravenhill's The Exclusion Zone, which the author also directs, revolves around a couple who meet online and venture into the countryside for a romantic rendezvous, talking about seeing a horror film upon their return to the city. Real-life horror soon descends as fiction and reality collide and their inhibitions unravel. Ravenhill previously wrote The Experiment for Terror 2009.

De Angelis' Country, directed by Hannah Eidinow, revolves around two old friends, one supporting the other in her bereavement as her husband has died. But doesn't he live on in the memory, and in the things he did and may yet do? Something is stirring in the peaceful seclusion of the country and old friendships die hard.

Ewart's Reanimator, directed by Adam Meggido, revolves around a medical student who pursues ghoulish experiments in the dark underbelly of early 20th century America. To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7407 0234, or visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk.