The Ghost Train

The Ghost Train a play, staged by Mawdesley Amateur Dramatic Society at Mawdesley Village Hall, Hurst Green, Mawdesley on Saturday, 24th June, 2023

The Ghost Train… a comedy thriller penned in 1923 by Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey - Dad’s Army fame) and adapted since by Jocelyn and Nicholas Ridley (Arnold’s son). Ghost Train premiered in 1923 and was a huge hit, enjoying a seventeen-month run in the West End. It would appear that the play has lost none of its power to chill and delight audiences over the years, as it remains a popular choice for revivals, as well as being adapted for film, TV and the radio numerous times over the years. Ridley’s play, about a group of stranded passengers, was inspired by his own experience of a missed connection and his own uncomfortable night spent in a waiting room at Mangotsfield Junction, near Bristol where he was awakened, the following morning, by a train screaming and tearing through the station.  Although the storyline is quite a chilling one, it does have some great comedy moments and provides plenty of opportunities for the actors to shine!  So, its 1922, the last train of the day is about to pull out of Fal Vale Station, a small branch station in Cornwall. Ted Deakin pulls the ‘communication chord’ of the train… leaving an assortment of passengers stranded overnight in a dingy waiting room with very few provisions… but plenty of ghostly tales to be told…

Production Team… the experienced Chris Hill (Director) was the person tasked with bringing this enthralling comedy thriller, with more twists and turns than ‘Spaghetti Junction’, to stage! With clear and confident direction, I’m of the opinion that Chris knew exactly what he wanted from this production and how to achieve it.  Not only did Chris direct the play, he also took on one of the lead roles in the form of Saul Hodgkin (Station Master at Fal Vale Railway Station). Chris had a well-rehearsed and enthusiastic cast at his disposal, who as soon as those curtains opened, were only to ready and willing to give their all, providing us with a great piece of theatre, which, if the applause at the end was anything to go by, was enjoyed by all those present! Well done, Chris. Be very proud, sir!

The Cast … ‘The whole being far greater than the sum of its parts’… is something, at times you just have to accept!  This expression, ‘stolen from Aristotle’ basically means, in this instance, that the success of this production wasn’t down to an individual, but down to the cast working their socks off, creating a beautiful piece of theatre… and that’s how I saw things unfold that evening!  Having said that, I do feel it would be remiss of me not to give a few ‘shout outs’ … so let’s begin with probably the youngest member of the cast Ethan Banks who took on the role of ‘Teddie Deakin’ the most incredibly annoying character you’d ever wish to meet and the one you really would like to slap!  Ethan made this part his own, great stage presence, wonderful characterisation … and what a twist Mr Deakin had in store for us… did not see that one coming at all!  Well done young man… great job, be proud!  Loved, loved, loved Olivia Lloyd’s portrayal of ‘Julia Price’ or should I say ‘Chicago Sal’.  Commanding stage presence with over-the-top hysterics, great characterisation, loved the mannerisms, they say ‘the eyes are the windows to the soul’… proof was here that evening!  Another huge twist at the end, another that I didn’t see coming!  Be ever so proud Olivia, great job!  Chris Hill our Director, provided us with another great character with an authentic Cornish accent … Station Master ‘Saul Hodgkin’.  Characterisation/Stage Presence… loved the storytelling, especially about the haunted station… well done Chris both on and off stage!  ‘Elsie and Richard Winthrop’, the ‘Bickering Winthrop’s’ were played by Debbie Wells and Allan Row respectively. They’d been married for a year but were going through a ’rough patch’!  Elsie is a bit of a 1920’s ‘feminist’… Richard, an officious, over-bearing loud mouth!  Debbie provided us with another great character, stage presence aplenty, used her elegance to accentuate the character.  Allan was playing his first ‘big role’ on stage and what a good job he made of it!  Good stage presence, good mannerisms, worked really well with the other cast members and with Debbie. If I could offer a small piece of ‘constrictive advice’ not just for Allan, but to everyone really… it’s a wonderful feeling when you finally know your lines… but just saying them without ‘light and shade’ will never work!  Emotion/accentuation is vital for dialogue to come alive… hope I haven’t offended, just me thinking out loud really!  Our second couple were the ‘newly-weds’… ‘Charles and Peggy Murdock’ played ever so well by Katie Potter and Libbie Cowburn. I’ve seen both Libby and Katie perform recently for other societies in totally different types of roles… all I can say is keep your eyes on these two … you’ll be seeing a lot more of them for sure!  Both oozed stage presence, gave us two believable characters and I talked about ‘emotion and accentuation’ above, they had this in ‘bucket loads!  Be ever so proud, great job!  I suppose you could say, our third couple … ‘Mr Price’ and ‘Dr Sterling’ played by Finlay Robertson and Emma Smallshaw (Emma making her stage debut, I believe). They arrived on the scene as concerned people looking for and after ‘Julia’… in the end they provided us with probably the biggest twist/turn of them all!  Again, two believable characters created, with good stage presence… well done you two!  Phil Quinn took on the role of ‘Jackson’, a ‘secret squirrel’ of sorts… a cameo role at best, only arriving on stage toward the very end… well done Phil!  Last, certainly NOT LEAST… Hilda McAughey took on the role of the slightly batty spinster ‘Miss Bourne’ … complete with a ‘bird in a cage’!  Good characterisation, good stage presence, spent the best part of Act 2 and 3 asleep on a table in a ‘drunken coma’ at the back of the stage after being offered a ‘nip of brandy’ from hip flask and downing the lot!  Totally believable … Hilda just made me laugh!  Be ever so proud Hilda!

Staging/Set/Tech… Mawdesley Village Hall isn’t the biggest of venues, neither is the stage area, but as always, a well-constructed, authentically designed and totally believable rundown Fal-Vale train station was built in house, maximising the space available!  Finlay Robertson (Stage Manager) and Tony McAughey (Set Designer /Constructor), Julie Banks, Finlay and Jeanette Robertson (Stage Painters) should be congratulated on their efforts which afforded the actors a great platform (pardon the pun) to perform from!  Lighting/Sound were under the control of Paul Taylor and Mathew Hutchinson, respectively, along with Gareth Preston (Sound Consultant). The lighting at Mawdesley is relatively basic, but used extremely well… you never find anyone in the dark!  Sound, used mainly for music and the noises associated with the train and the station… was really good and enhanced the production… well done one and all!

Costumes… an impressive wardrobe was used throughout the evening, which without doubt enhanced the production so much… provided by ‘Costume Store’, ‘All Dressed Up’ and the Cast themselves!  Props… really thoughtful quality set of props were used throughout … under the watchful eye of Jane Tingle, the cast and the Production Team.

I can honestly say, that this was a really well written, well directed and well-acted production! The twist and turns that cropped up toward the end were totally not expected and well achieved! Congratulations all round on another successful play here at Mawdesley Village Hall.  As is the norm… I always try and have a listen to the audience as they leave, always a good source for information on thoughts and feelings about the production… so after the applause received at the end of the production and the positive comments I heard as the audience and I left… I can only suggest that this was play enjoyed by everyone present that evening!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I and thanks to Jane Tingle for looking after us so well throughout.  Really did enjoy the play and already looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

Stay safe and keep well…
"Stronger Together"

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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