The Ghost Train

Arnold Ridley must have known a thing or two when he wrote the Ghost Train – a real comedy/thriller which has been so popular over the years and he could well have lost a fortune when he sold the amateur rights for £200 back in the day.  It certainly still has its appeal and this production gave audiences a really good night out at the theatre.

The story is quite chilling but does have some great comedy moments as well with plenty of opportunity for the characters to shine through which this cast did with ease.  Peter Bowers played Saul Hodgkin who told the stranded passengers the tale of the horrors of the Ghost Train due to come through that night and the tension grew!

Peter Coleman and Sue Bowers played husband and wife Richard and Elsie Winthrop who were obviously going through a difficult time in their marriage – the bickering was very well done!  Guy Quickenden and Georgia Jones were another married couple (Charles and Peggy Murdock) only just married and very much in love, horrified at the thought of having to spend their wedding night in a railway waiting room with all these other characters with Peggy being scared out of her wits at the thought of ghostly happenings!

Miss Bourne arrived, played by Diane Morris, complete with bird in a cage – a lovely characterisation, particularly when as a teetotaller and having been offered a nip of brandy to help her nerves, drank the whole lot!

Mike Cotton as Teddie Deakin was the incredibly annoying and hearty character who turned out to be the detective in the end – excellent performance.   Alison Avann gave us a girl who appeared to be in such a bad mental state that she had to come to be there for the ghost train’s appearance and together with Mike Farrall as Herbert Price and Dave Williams as John Sterling provided the denouement in that the whole thing was a put up job in order to transport illegal guns etc., all three giving excellent performances, not forgetting Clive Hale as Jackson.

As your Director so rightly said in the programme, so much work goes on behind the scenes with the set, costumes, publicity, sound, lighting and everything else that makes a really good theatrical experience so congratulations to all involved whether on or off stage and particularly to Director Marilyn Chandler for bringing the whole enterprise together.

                                               

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