THE GHOST TRAIN AT THE THEATRE ROYAL, WINDSOR
Shrieks of laughter as well as horror heralded the opening of the Theatre Royal Windsor’s first ever Classic Thriller Season.
Produced in association with TABS Productions and the Theatre Royal Nottingham, chilling tales from the pens of such writers as Francis Durbridge (creator of the Paul Temple detective series) and Brian Clemens (creator of The Avengers and The Professionals), will be showing over the next five weeks.
The season starts with the comedy thriller The Ghost Train, written in 1923 by Arnold Ridley, best known as Private Godfrey in the TV series Dad’s Army.
Set in 1925 - the year it was first performed - it concerns a group of stranded passengers who are holed up in a haunted railway station overnight.
David Gilbrook’s chilling sound effects together with Alex Marshall’s atmospheric lighting and Geoff Gilder’s station waiting room all help to set the scene for a good night of all-round entertainment, with ghostly goings on working well with the comedy to relieve the tension.
It’s very much a period piece, with old-fashioned manners and a stilted way of talking, rather like in Brief Encounter, though that was to come 20 years later. The language is rather quaint, with nothing stronger than ‘duce’ and ‘beastly’ - amusing in themselves - while the actors throw themselves into their roles with more than a touch of melodrama.
My favourite character is Teddie Deacon, a flamboyant and rather idiotic figure played with verve and enthusiasm by Andrew Ryan. Susan Earnshaw also steals a scene or two as the elderly Miss Bourne, especially when she over-indulges on the brandy; Angie Smith adds to the hysteria as the neurotic Julia Price, while Adrian Lloyd-James really makes the most of his part as the station master.
The theme continues on June 16 with The Shadow of the Ghost, co-written by Arnold Ridley’s son Nicholas, which takes place on the set of a production of The Ghost Train in a theatre somewhere in the south west of England.
I can’t wait to see it!
CLAIRE BROTHERWOOD uktheatre.net
It may be set in a shabby building in the wilds of Cornwall in days long gone by, but there is no need to get steamed up about deciphering the dialogue in The Theatre Royal Windsor's latest offering.
All the weird and wonderful goings-on in The Ghost Train are easy to keep track of, unlike the recent TV adaptation of Jamaica Inn, which drew so many complaints from viewers.
It helps, of course, that virtually all the characters of the former are from the 'top hole' strata of society - loud, self-opinionated and not slow in coming foward.
And the actors, positively revelling in the glorious absurdity of it all, deliver their lines with such assurance they could probably be heard across the street in Windsor Castle.
To be honest, time has not been kind to some parts of The Ghost Train script and it's interesting to consider how much of the phraseology which would have been commonplace 90 years ago, now sounds simply comical, creating far more laughter than would have originally been intended.
But though the cast play up to this - it would even be fair to say they 'ham it up' for much of the action - they are never disrespectful to the original plot and retain the underlying sensations of fear and fright which dominate much of the proceedings.
Indeed, the thrilling climax as the curtain comes down for the interval is spine-chillingly dramatic.
Sam Hodgkin is hugely-believable as the grumpy station master who regales them with spooky tales, though his loud guttural clearances are a little overdone during his storytelling and detract somewhat from the narrative.
Jeremy Lloyd Thomas as Richard Winthrop and Jacqueline Gilbride as his wife Elsie excel as they argue their way towards a separation while Alan Magor and Sarah Wynne Kordas are perfectly cast as newlyweds Charles and Peggy Murdock.
Susan Earnshaw provides much of the humour as Miss Bourne, even though her character spends most of act three asleep after drinking a hip flask of brandy.
Andrew Ryan is outstanding as tweed-clad buffoon Teddie Deacon, who he portrays as a cross between Larry Grayson and Basil Brush. His demeanour infuriates his fellow travellers and is so irritating that no doubt most of the audience would have welcomed the opportunity to shout at him to keep quiet!
Angie Smith, complete with what looks like a Cilla Black wig circa 1965, along with John Banks and Michael Sherwin introduce a sinister note to the proceedings, while Edward Parris makes a confident professional stage debut as police officer Jackson.
Tabs Productions, the talented and hard-working team behind this version of The Ghost Train are staging a season of thrillers at Windsor over the next few weeks, continuing with The Shadow of the Past, written by Chris Ponka and Arnold Ridley's son Nicolas, which opens on Monday (June 16).
BARRY DIX getwestlondon.co.uk
Shrieks of laughter as well as horror heralded the opening of the Theatre Royal Windsor’s first ever Classic Thriller Season.
Produced in association with TABS Productions and the Theatre Royal Nottingham, chilling tales from the pens of such writers as Francis Durbridge (creator of the Paul Temple detective series) and Brian Clemens (creator of The Avengers and The Professionals), will be showing over the next five weeks.
The season starts with the comedy thriller The Ghost Train, written in 1923 by Arnold Ridley, best known as Private Godfrey in the TV series Dad’s Army.
Set in 1925 - the year it was first performed - it concerns a group of stranded passengers who are holed up in a haunted railway station overnight.
David Gilbrook’s chilling sound effects together with Alex Marshall’s atmospheric lighting and Geoff Gilder’s station waiting room all help to set the scene for a good night of all-round entertainment, with ghostly goings on working well with the comedy to relieve the tension.
It’s very much a period piece, with old-fashioned manners and a stilted way of talking, rather like in Brief Encounter, though that was to come 20 years later. The language is rather quaint, with nothing stronger than ‘duce’ and ‘beastly’ - amusing in themselves - while the actors throw themselves into their roles with more than a touch of melodrama.
My favourite character is Teddie Deacon, a flamboyant and rather idiotic figure played with verve and enthusiasm by Andrew Ryan. Susan Earnshaw also steals a scene or two as the elderly Miss Bourne, especially when she over-indulges on the brandy; Angie Smith adds to the hysteria as the neurotic Julia Price, while Adrian Lloyd-James really makes the most of his part as the station master.
The theme continues on June 16 with The Shadow of the Ghost, co-written by Arnold Ridley’s son Nicholas, which takes place on the set of a production of The Ghost Train in a theatre somewhere in the south west of England.
I can’t wait to see it!
CLAIRE BROTHERWOOD uktheatre.net
It may be set in a shabby building in the wilds of Cornwall in days long gone by, but there is no need to get steamed up about deciphering the dialogue in The Theatre Royal Windsor's latest offering.
All the weird and wonderful goings-on in The Ghost Train are easy to keep track of, unlike the recent TV adaptation of Jamaica Inn, which drew so many complaints from viewers.
It helps, of course, that virtually all the characters of the former are from the 'top hole' strata of society - loud, self-opinionated and not slow in coming foward.
And the actors, positively revelling in the glorious absurdity of it all, deliver their lines with such assurance they could probably be heard across the street in Windsor Castle.
To be honest, time has not been kind to some parts of The Ghost Train script and it's interesting to consider how much of the phraseology which would have been commonplace 90 years ago, now sounds simply comical, creating far more laughter than would have originally been intended.
But though the cast play up to this - it would even be fair to say they 'ham it up' for much of the action - they are never disrespectful to the original plot and retain the underlying sensations of fear and fright which dominate much of the proceedings.
Indeed, the thrilling climax as the curtain comes down for the interval is spine-chillingly dramatic.
Sam Hodgkin is hugely-believable as the grumpy station master who regales them with spooky tales, though his loud guttural clearances are a little overdone during his storytelling and detract somewhat from the narrative.
Jeremy Lloyd Thomas as Richard Winthrop and Jacqueline Gilbride as his wife Elsie excel as they argue their way towards a separation while Alan Magor and Sarah Wynne Kordas are perfectly cast as newlyweds Charles and Peggy Murdock.
Susan Earnshaw provides much of the humour as Miss Bourne, even though her character spends most of act three asleep after drinking a hip flask of brandy.
Andrew Ryan is outstanding as tweed-clad buffoon Teddie Deacon, who he portrays as a cross between Larry Grayson and Basil Brush. His demeanour infuriates his fellow travellers and is so irritating that no doubt most of the audience would have welcomed the opportunity to shout at him to keep quiet!
Angie Smith, complete with what looks like a Cilla Black wig circa 1965, along with John Banks and Michael Sherwin introduce a sinister note to the proceedings, while Edward Parris makes a confident professional stage debut as police officer Jackson.
Tabs Productions, the talented and hard-working team behind this version of The Ghost Train are staging a season of thrillers at Windsor over the next few weeks, continuing with The Shadow of the Past, written by Chris Ponka and Arnold Ridley's son Nicolas, which opens on Monday (June 16).
BARRY DIX getwestlondon.co.uk