THE GHOST TRAIN

THE GHOST TRAIN

CTW at the Old Court Theatre

16.09.15

Opening the new CTW season, Arnold Ridley's museum piece, a nod, perhaps, to the “crowd-pleaser” season just past.

Good houses, though I suspect that Wednesday's audience was “a difficult crowd to entertain”. But a fine cast, directed by Iain Holding-Sutton, with Caroline Froy, made an excellent job of building suspense and maintaining the period style.

Ryan Read-Gaterell, for example, made a believable Charles, with Caroline Wright as his blushing bride. The character parts have the best of it, and we enjoyed Robin Winder's grumpy old station-master Saul, and Christine Davidson's imposing spinster, sitting in state behind The Times, and toppling hilariously off the wagon thanks to Teddie's handy hip-flask. This “idiot with the feather in his hat” was memorably done by Tonio Ellis, pushing the pace and pointing the laughs. And Jade Flack stood out in the smaller role of the madwoman who is not all she seems.

The spacious waiting room is convincingly reproduced, with pre-nationalization grime on the windows; unfortunately lighting angles caused annoying reflections once the action started. Ridley gave long explicit instructions for the steam train effects; nicely done at the Old Court, though a little more sound and a little more smoke would not have come amiss.

The brandy was still pre-war, but the contraband had now become narcotics rather than arms.

An impressive curtain call had the cast of twelve standing like commuters on a platform, as the ghost train roars through Fal Vale station one last time.

THE GHOST TRAIN

THE GHOST TRAIN

Writtle Cards

28.10.2014

Arnold Ridley's mystery thriller has played in village halls throughout the land; ninety years on, audiences still gasp at the “noises off” that so impressed the Guardian in 1925.

Michelle Moody's production plays out in a suitably drab waiting room, a peeling railway poster advertises the delights of Cornwall. Enter the stranded passengers, the women more convincingly costumed than the men, all hatted except for the silly ass [Arthur Askey in the film...] whose missing headgear has made them miss their connection.

Enjoyable performances on offer from Nick Caton, irritating the others with his endless stories and flippant attitude, but saving the day in the end, and from Liz Curley as Miss Bourne, brilliantly breaking the pledge with borrowed brandy. Newcomer Jerry Thomas gives a masterclass in Coarse Acting as the surly Saul Hodgkin, stationmaster of Fal Vale. Grumpy Boot Banes and Clare Williams are the ill-suited Winthrops, Chris Rogerson and Shelley Goodwin the very young honeymooners, Sharon Goodwin the mysterious, troubled Miss Price.

The auditorium is wonderfully decorated with all kinds of railway ephemera, including station signs for Fal Vale and Writtle Cards; the bar offers Truro Tipple, a cider and rum concoction. But the play itself pootles along the branch line – to get up a head of steam would need a more confident command of Ridley's text, spookier gaslight with sinister shadows, and better special effects: the lights, the thunderous noise, the smoke, the shattered glass …

THE GHOST TRAIN

Ingatestone and Fryerning Dramatic Club

12.11.10

For authenticity's sake, I arrived by rail. Ingatestone Station, Grade II listed, is every bit as interesting as the fictional Fal Vale Junction, though its waiting room is less palatial.

Mel Hastings' delightful production boasted several impressive period characterizations: Ben Salmon's Charlie Murdock, Duncan Hopgood's rustic stationmaster, Emma Moriaty's troubled Julia, wearing the loveliest frock amongst some excellent costumes. Boorish “caveman” Winthrop was well sustained by Gary Catlin, with Chrissie Mallett equally good as the wife he's about to leave.

Nick Lupton, as silly-ass-in-spats Teddie Deakin was a constant delight, every chortle, every utterance, every move absolutely in character, though as the last few minutes reveal, not as asinine as he appears … And Pam Hemming was magnificent as Miss Bourne, the formidable maiden lady who's unused to brandy. I treasure the meal she made of the word “linoleum”.

Sound, light and special effects all conspired to make a stylish production, though polythene in the windows did not seem an ideal solution.

Arnold Ridley's remote, underused Cornish halt, immortalized on stage in the early 20s, seems to have survived the Beeching Axe and the demise of Bradshaw; Ingatestone's enjoyable revival reminds us why it's still scheduled by theatre companies of all kinds.