Review: The Ghost Train at People’s Theatre

“…cleverly devised…jump scares hit home…”

The Ghost Train by Arnold Ridley, People’s Theatre

By Kay Wilson

This production of the comedy thriller The Ghost Train was performed to celebrate its 100^th anniversary and certainly delivered a nostalgic timepiece of a play.

I’d wanted to see this production for years, after hearing about it being written by much-loved actor and playwright Arnold Ridley, (who played Private Godfrey in the TV series Dad’s Army). Luckily, despite the time lapse, I had no idea of any twists in the tale. Apparently Ridley was inspired to write it after being stranded in a grim, isolated train station near Bristol, with no amenities. Despite the lack of trains through the platform he was waiting on, he could hear a fast train on another track, but as he couldn’t see it, the idea for a ghost train came into his head.

The setting for The Ghost Train is a deserted Cornish train station in the middle of nowhere, so the premise promised much, in terms of creating tension. A train had been delayed and connections were missed. Enter the interesting cast of characters who all wanted to be somewhere else, with their own personal baggage, as well as some actual baggage.

There were certainly plenty of stressful elements to the opening scenes to find relatable. Not only was the station isolated, but there were flickering lights, not enough coal for the fire, no food or anything to drink. And in the era before mobile phones, you could understand the characters disquiet at how they were going to get back to civilisation. Most of the travellers, stuck in a gloomy waiting room, played out their own dramas and helped create tension.

Being stranded was particularly hard for Charles and Peggy Murdock, played well by Jamie Cordes and Hannah Backhouse, as it was their wedding night. A neat counterpoint to the lovebirds was the relationship between Richard and Elsie Winthrop. Ben Ostell and Brooke Hope Shaw were convincing as a quarrelsome couple on the brink of divorce. One of the principal performances I most enjoyed was by Andrew Rakowski as Teddie Deakin, an affable and irritating man. He did well to make the most of the humour in the play and got a good few laughs.

Central to the play is a ghostly tale about the titular phantom train. This yarn is told by the station master, Saul Hodgkin, played by Keith Wigham. He held the audience’s attention in the palm of his hand as he conjured up the history of the fatal train accident. As if it all couldn’t get even more bleak, the characters find out that the dead were laid out in the waiting room, where they are standing.

The set was cleverly devised to enable the various jump scares to hit home. Just when you think the plot is going to be less scary there is a flurry of ghostly lights, unexpected appearances and bangs. And then there’s the twist – which I didn’t see coming, but to honest, I rarely do. It worked well.

There seems to be a healthy appetite for spooky and supernatural theatrical experiences at the moment. Danny Robins’ podcast about that world, Uncanny, has millions of listeners and his play, A Ghost Story 2:22 also captivates audiences.

This People’s Theatre’s production shows there is still some mileage to be had in dusting off a classic and presenting it to today’s audiences, who are looking for an older take on ghostly goings on. The whole cast worked hard to deliver the best performance they could and I enjoyed seeing a play I had heard about for many years at long last.

The Ghost Train plays at People’s Theatre until Saturday 25 October. Tickets are available here.

Kay Wilson is a North East-based writer. She won Runner-Up in the Self-Published category at the Comedy Women in Print awards for her debut novel, The Stand-Up Mam. It was inspired by her own experience of performing comedy for two years and charts the adventures of a perfect mother who does stand-up. It transforms her but blows up family life. Described as ‘hilarious and heart-warming’, signed copies can be bought at The Bound bookshop, Whitley Bay. The novel is also available on Amazon here. Kay has a website which promotes extraordinary women and gives updates on her writing life.