WINTER brings out the ghost story fan in all of us, and Off the Rock’s latest offering is here to itch that scratch. The Trove Of Curiosities guides us through the unexplained with five short plays from York playwrights.

Alexander King plays a gently benevolent Inheritor with sinister undertones, acting as our MC for the evening by introducing each story. He is also the writer of Security, the first play of the evening and a particularly strong tale. Director Alison Young (also Stacey in Twenty-Nine) uses Cliff and Danny’s walkie-talkie communication effectively to create suspense and distance the ghostly threat from the mundane reality of the security guard’s office.

Stories with the deepest roots in the ordinary and everyday have the most affecting plotlines: we can see ourselves in Natalie-Clare Brimicombe’s moody teen Mona, or know a figure as kindly as the Reverend Allsop (Lucinda Rennison, giving a nuanced and natural performance).

A Bridge Too Far? and The Boy With Marbles For Eyes are both more far-fetched stories which, without the full conviction of the cast behind them, fail to hit the mark as effectively when it comes to suspending the audience’s disbelief.

Matthew Wignall’s linking material is also a bit disjointed when finding common ground within the stories at the evening’s conclusion, but it’s a nice bid to link together the plots.

It’s a patchy evening but there are some stand-out performances hidden within the shadows of Krumbs Kitchen that make the outing worthwhile.

Off The Rock Productions present The Trove Of Curiosities, Krumbs Kitchen, Tanner Row, York, tonight at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10, concessions £8, online at ticketsource.co.uk/offtherockproductions