This play is an adaptation of a ghost story written by Charles Dickens about accidents on the railways which would then have been a new technology (the world's first passenger railway opened in Liverpool in 1830, ironically with a fatal accident; the story was written in 1866).
The action takes place over several nights. The night-shift signalman works in a lonely signal box at the mouth of a tunnel at the bottom of a deep cutting. He is visited by a posh chap on a walking tour. They discuss a fatal railway accident. After the visitor has left, the signalman is haunted by strange sounds in his box, and poltergeist activity. A ghost appears in the tunnel.
On the second night, the signalman tells the visitor of the spooky activity and says that it has happened twice, both times before a disaster. The visitor takes the rational view and suggests that the perceived phenomena are caused by the loneliness of the situation playing tricks on the signalman’s mind.
Which leads to the denouement on the third night.
The two main parts were superbly played by Chris Walker and John Burton but perhaps the real plaudits were for the special effects which were perfectly timed and always a little bit of a surprise. Strangely, the supernatural element of this story aroused more humour than fear, perhaps a sign of the times.
On the second night, the signalman tells the visitor of the spooky activity and says that it has happened twice, both times before a disaster. The visitor takes the rational view and suggests that the perceived phenomena are caused by the loneliness of the situation playing tricks on the signalman’s mind.
Which leads to the denouement on the third night.
The two main parts were superbly played by Chris Walker and John Burton but perhaps the real plaudits were for the special effects which were perfectly timed and always a little bit of a surprise. Strangely, the supernatural element of this story aroused more humour than fear, perhaps a sign of the times.
I attended the matinee performance at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne on Wednesday 10th September 2025. The play is on tour and will play at Eastbourne until Saturday 13th September. Then it will visit Salisbury, Windsor, New Brighton, Mold, Darlington and St Helier.
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