The Ghost Train

The Ghost Train was written by Arnold Ridley in 1923 and is a timeless mystery thriller, although by today’s standards it would hardly be described as a ‘thriller’ but nevertheless there were some credible eerie moments. The emergency cord had been pulled on a train and six passengers found themselves at a remote station on a stormy night. The excellent set depicting a cold and cheerless waiting room greets them also a station master who does his level best to dissuade them from staying even going on to tell them about the local legend of a ghost train that dooms all who see it to death - but they decide to stay! Trevor Chambers was totally convincing as the station master, he has such a natural stage presence and he told the ‘story’ brilliantly. There are two couples in the group one on the verge of separating (Richard and Elsie Winthrop) whilst the other are newlyweds (Charles and Peggy Murdoch). Peter Harrison gives a commanding performance as Richard coping admirably with the domineering and softer sides of the character and Angela Barradell impressed as his wife. Allan Rafferty, in his first role with the players, and Helen Perry are totally believable as the newlyweds and Patricia Church was splendid as  Miss Bourne, how she managed to stay still lying on a hard table for so long was nothing short of amazing. An outstanding performance came from Angela Swift as the disturbed, ghost obsessed local who turns out to be one of the villians and Jim Lawson, as the undercover detective Teddie Deakin, manages superbly to infuriate everyone, appearing not to take anything seriously with his smooth, camp portrayal. The main characters were ably supported by Peter Stevenson as Herbert Price, Matt Grundy as John Stirling and Aaron Burge as Jackson. Good period costumes, excellent sound and lighting effects, all added to enrich and encapsulate the atmospherics necessary to make this a most enjoyable experience.

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