The Ghost Train

My companion for this evening is a fan of the original film and she was tantalisingly vague about the content.  Written by Arnold Ridley, of Dads Army fame, the play is quite well known so I am not sure how I have not seen if over the years. I was, however, looking forward to it.

Blackmore Players, under the direction of Dave Cook, produced a nicely balanced story and all the characters were well played.  I noted, in the programme, that one of the main characters, normally a woman, was being played by a man.  My companion was a bit unsure but, as she knew the story, that is understandable.  This was the second performance and there was some hesitancy in the actors and the need for a few prompts at the beginning of the piece.  Once the cast had settled in, it went smoothly.

The play started well, and each character was introduced to us.  There were two couples, Richard and Elsie Winthrop (played by Andrew Raymond and Hilary Martin) and Charles and Peggy Murdock (played by Matthew Pearson and Rebecca Smith).  All four actors had well defined characters and we quickly understood their relationships and nuances.  The Station Master, who is quite central to the play, was well played by Alf Curry, he had a couple of very long speeches which he delivered, perfectly, in a delightful Cornish accent.  Then there was Miss Bourne (played by Linda Raymond) a lovely portrayal of a slightly batty spinster. 

We met Teddie Deakin, played by Connor Gardner.  His character appeared to be that of a rather stupid and silly individual but, later in the play, we found out that he was no such thing!  Steve Drinkall played Herbert Price, a local landowner with his solicitor John Sterling, (played by Keith Goody).  They were acting as guardians to Julian Price (Julie in the original script).   Played by Ian Russell, he seemed to be delusional and scared.  To be honest, this was the one character that didn’t really ‘gell’ for me.  I could imagine the part, played by a female, as hysterical.  That doesn’t quite work for a male performer, so the overall impression was rather manic and uncontrolled.  The cast was completed with a short appearance of Rhys Burrell as the policeman.

There were plenty of comedic moments which kept the play moving along at a pace and, when we found out the sting in the tail, it was completely unexpected to me!  There were some adjustments during the denouement, because the change in character for Julian and I thought that his character, at the end, was rather out of kilter with the rest of the story.  This was supported by some comments from people sitting around me in the audience, who seemed to find that part of the characterisation not very believable.

The standing set was well built and substantial, it was, however a pity that the actors, supposedly coming in from a rainy night were not wet!  The lighting and sound effects were very well done and beautifully timed.  It was a shame that the door was left open at one point and the lighting effect of the passing train did not quite work.  However, these are picky points and may well have been rectified in subsequent performances.

I enjoyed the production and the company should be pleased with their performances.

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