Katherine Freeman reviews The Ghost Train at the Barn Theatre in Welwyn Garden City.
I left home reluctantly last Friday night, in the cold and rain, to go to watch the Barn Theatre’s opening play of the new season – and I’m so glad I did.
The Ghost Train, the 1925 comedy thriller by Arnold Ridley, of Dad’s Army fame, was a first-class ride.
It debuted at St Martin's Theatre in 1925, when it ran for 665 performances, and has since had more revivals than the Flying Scotsman, with good reason. It’s arguably the defining play of its genre.
The main house was full when the curtain went up to reveal a railway station waiting room that, thanks to clever design, made the Barn stage appear much bigger than it is.
A group of passengers are wandering in, stranded at the remote Cornish railway station, thanks to Teddy Deakin, who’d pulled the cord and caused the passengers to miss their connections.
David Smith as Richard Winthrop and Stephanie Cotter as his wife are convincing as they argue their way to a separation, while Alfie Hart and Lauren Ryan are sweet as newlyweds.
Their travelling companion Miss Bourne, played by Barn newcomer Sarah Haverson, after an engaging few minutes, takes refuge in a flask of brandy and doesn’t wake up till the end of the play.
They’re beautifully dressed (these costumes don’t look as if they’ve been hanging around in a dusty wardrobe) if not completely period-specific.
The weary travellers decide to spend the night in the waiting room, despite the old stationmaster’s (Barry Grossman) tales of hauntings and ghost trains; “Some nights, the signal bell rings and the train comes a-screaming and a-tearing through”.
The tension ramps up and it’s not long before they regret this decision, as red signal lights wave around outside the window and the whistle of the distant train fills the room. This pacy production rockets along to a terrifying end of the first half.
When we see them after the interval, shocked and shaken, they’re joined by runaway Julia (Jessica Drucker) closely followed by two men who are chasing her (Tallan Cameron and Keith MacDougall).
She’s a nervous wreck and although she’s seen the apparition once, which accounts for her terror, she’s irresistibly drawn to see it again. Shades of Freud’s concept of the urge to repeat traumatic events in hope of a better outcome, perhaps?
The action is peppered with the comic antics of Teddy Deakin who eventually reveals all.
The 12-strong cast turned in uniformly convincing performances, with one or two new to the Barn stage and a couple of veteran Barn actors – I thought I spotted Keith Thompson in a final scene.
It was a pleasure to see how Alfie Hart has come through Barn Youth and, with nine productions to his credit, has matured into a promising young actor.
In an inspired piece of gender-blind casting, director Cliff Francis chose Sarah Gennoe to play ebullient, extremely irritating Teddy Deakin – and she played him to perfection!
The production values, from set to costumes, sound to lighting are terrific, and this Ghost Train will run until Saturday, October 8, 8pm evenings and 2.30pm matinee.
Tickets are available from the Barn box office on 01707 324300 or online at online at www.barntheatre.co.uk
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