A HOMEMADE spacecraft the size of a Frisbee heads towards an inflatable globe as the atmospheric voiceover announces Earth’s invasion by alien lifeforms.

It’s The House that Dripped Horror – Liverpool theatre company Lodestar’s first drastic departure from Shakespeare and a trio of tongue-in-cheek B-movie-style stories presented on stage.

The first is They Came from Venus, the tale of amateur scientist Ralph Martin (Paddy Clarke) and the over-sexed girlfriend he wishes was a boyfriend (Lauren Silver) caught up in saving Blackpool from extraterrestrials hell-bent on destruction.

Then there’s The Child of Dracula, narrated by the Prince of Darkness as a lo-fi bat – basically actor Jack Darell in a black balaclava decorated with wings. His nemesis Van Helsing (Clarke again) has trapped him in this form by playing the devil’s violin (cue scary soundtrack) but he has high hopes of his offspring Count Darren (Danny Douglas), a Brummie teenager struggling to control his urges.

Finally, in the piece that gave the show its name, a terribly English young man and his fiancee visit the mansion that has long haunted her dreams.

Performed in the Contemporary Urban Centre’s Crypt, it’s an inventive show that makes the most of its lack of budget with rubber gloved aliens and remote control car chases adding to the B-movie feel.

The characters are brilliantly hammed up by a strong cast that manages to deadpan its way through a genuinely funny script. It’s clever, well put together and extremely silly – Lodestar triumphs once again.

Laura Davis