The Ghost Train

From the moment the curtains parted at the charming Barn Theatre to be presented with a splendidly realistic looking set of the remote Fal Vale Station in Cornwall, I knew we in the audience were in for a special production.   And so it proved. 

Usually, upon first sight, a set of this rare quality merits a deserved round of applause - perhaps the regular Barn Theatre patrons have become too used to special sets!   Martin Beatty devised an early 20th century waiting room with a working coal fire, GWR windows, ticket hatch with adjoining door, an impressive working station clock, two benches either side of the upstage entry door, several wall pictures and a motley cast of strangers arriving to catch a through train that had, however, already left for the night, amply set the scene for the "ghostly" events to come.

Written in 1923 by Arnold Ridley, the lovable "weak bladdered" Pte. Godfrey with whom director David Morgan once appeared in this play, this has long since become an iconic and much loved play.

I greatly want to commend the authentic period feel of this production; set, props, costumes (Patti Thomas-Verweij), hair and make up (Stephanie Hornett Johnson), plus cast were all so special.    Together with highly effective sound and lighting especially for atmospheric effects, director David, was ably assisted by Tricia Whyte and provided a top class evening.   I could very easily imagine John Lawrie as Pte. Fraser - in sepulchral tones exclaiming "You'rrre all doo-oomed!"    The ghost train's dreaded entrance was brilliantly done and the tension palpable.

The eleven strong cast, so diverse in characters, built the rising anxiety not merely in speech but also in body language, and each and every syllable was clearly heard and totally in character.    Oh, the joy of hearing consonants - all of them!

Paul Robinson gave us a deliciously surly, unhelpful and ultimately villainous Saul Hodgkin, the authentically Cornish accented Station Master, trying in vain to force the assorted passengers to leave for the night.  Bickering husband and wife Richard and Elsie Winthrop, heading towards divorce, with the protective Richard emerging as a strong character and with their  love rekindled during the story, gave us two towering performances in the guise of  Bob Wilson and Amanda Stronge.  Newly wedded couple Charles and Peggy Murdock - confetti in tow, he very protective of her -  were beautifully pitched and distinctively middle class types, engaging in a passionate hug and kiss!   Alex Campbell and Jenny Roe were the players behind these wonderful portrayals.  Kay Sandford-Beal was a marvellously tweedy, fearful, bird cage carrying single woman Miss Bourne, who was "persuaded" to calm herself by drinking and, sadly for me at least, forced by the plot to remain asleep on a waiting room bench for quite a while.   Yet another top performance!

Steve Bedford gave us a disguised character in Teddy Deakin a complete and rather sudden transformation from the silly braying idiot - "my dear old thing" etc. speaking chap, who was blamed for the others missing their train, but who then became the hero in the form of the undercover British Police Inspector who ultimately foiled the foreign plotters behind the "ghost train" invention.   A most rewarding role to play, and Steve rewarded us with a peach of a performance, ably assisted in a cameo police role by a rain-coated Alan Barlow as an authentic Sergeant Jackson. We now turn to the remaining "baddies" in the plot.  Probably the most rewarding role was that given by Croia Riley as the hysterical Julia Price. Croia has an Irish accent - as her programme biog. reminds us - but Professor Higgins himself (from Pygmalion) would have found no trace of Irish in Julia.   Julia was a pivotal part for a clearly gifted actress to showcase her undoubted talent, which Croia did to the utmost effect.  Richard Peachey as Julia's villainous brother Herbert Price and one of the revolutionaries was suitably sinister and he was assisted by the bogus doctor John Sterling played effectively by Guy Hudson.     

By any standard the production was top class, with a professional standard set designed by Martin Beatty supported by Mike Sutton and Richard Grogan on sound and light. The production truly benefitted from realistic period costumes and an excellent cast.

To all involved in any capacity in t

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