Review: Sasha Graham’s Ghost Stories and Tarot, Fringe 2026

I walked into the stage room, a dungeon (dark, LED lit, heavy air sets the mood) and was handed a tarot card. I received the Fool, no surprise, but several different tarots made their way to each audience member. We were there to hear ghost stories and have a tarot reading, or so I’ve been led to believe. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this, but I walked away pleasantly surprised and with my own copy of a beautifully illustrated Fool.

Dark & glittery

Sasha Graham introduced herself from the darkness, setting a mystical mood as she entered the stage. She told us some of her history; American, New York living, spiritualist. She brought a lively energy to the stage, complete with a dark but glittery outfit to set the party mood.

She told us about New York in the 90s. A grungy artistic and dangerous place, full of raw life and promising potential for someone like her, an aspiring actress looking to make it in the big city. This ghost story isn’t just a tale found on the internet, but her own witness account? She never really got into how much of this is her truth and how much is dramatized for the play. Maybe it’s to build the mystery, maybe it’s for the best we don’t know…

She announced The Fool, catching the few of us in the audience who have the tarot card in our hands. Not a reading quite yet though, but the chapter title for her ghost story.

A personal ghost story

She would go on to theatrically play out the story of a couple of years in her early twenties, new to the big apple. She is freshly moving into a bargain loft: huge, messy, with a handful of concerning caveats, but very cheap! Perfect for an aspiring star who wants to express her artistic flair.

She tells her story in first person, from her perspective and in the present tense, bringing us into the past with her. She would briefly act out some other characters, and would take micro intervals for dancing to party music when it came up, and to play out other interstitials. She took ownership of her narrow stage and made each scene feel dynamic and full of life. The lighting would shift and breathe with her, creating colourful shadows in front of and behind her, easing us in and out of the creepier story sections.

And at the end of each chapter of the story, it was time for a reading.

Tarot readings in context

She called upon the Fool first, but also later called up the Devil, Death, the Lovers, and the World. A few people had each card, but she said that everyone holding the card should hear the reading as if it was directed at them; it was no accident each person was met by their card. I am the Fool.

She took the time to explain tarot, what it means, and how it might relate to our current lives. What message we might take from it to go forward, to solve our problems.

I found this particularly interesting, as explanations of tarot cards in my experience have always felt very abstract. Death doesn’t mean actually dying, but uncomfortable changes that need embraced. The Devil is the darkness we’re wilfully blind to, the Fool is one who steps near the cliff without looking, yet never seems to fall. Very fascinating, but also very abstract: what does it really mean?

By attaching each card to a section of the story, I got to see context for these things, played out in relatable story beats. I followed her journey and how she faced her challenges, both natural and ghostly, and then got to hear about the tarot and how that applied to the situation. How it marked that section of her life, and what wisdoms she could have benefitted from during that spooky time.

Surviving ghosts

She finished her ghost story, concluding that she did indeed survive, despite the haunting she encountered. A few tarot readings were given to the audience and she wrapped up by asking us to keep our minds open and embrace these questions and wisdoms. She let us know the cards were ours to keep, and that the full deck of illustrated tarot is available for sale.

The fear factor was gentle, with more attention on the journey and the tarot readings than actual horrors and ghosts. I didn’t walk away particularly shaken or spooked, however the few creepy dips were acted out very well and supported by the lighting/music tech to great effect.

Her storytelling was vivid and captured me with her persona brimming full of energy and life, without ever feeling exhausting or overwhelming. It was paced carefully and even if I was left hungry for more horror, I enjoyed her performance and getting to witness a small part of her life.