"The Ghost Train" by Arnold Ridley

Burton Joyce Players at Burton Joyce Village Hall.

Arnold Ridley's classic 1923 comedy thriller pulls into the station at Burton Joyce's Village Hall for just three days.

It's 1925 and a group of passengers are stranded at an old railway station in the Cornish countryside, miles away from anywhere, when they are told by the station master that he is closing the station for the night and that they need to vacate.

As they are miles away from the nearest available accommodation, they stand their ground and refuse to leave, giving the station master no option but to close the station with the passengers still in the waiting room.

Before he leaves, he tells them of a spectral steam train that often haunts the line, after a fatal crash years before, and that anyone at the station when the ghoulish train steams through will perish if they lay eyes on the train. Seconds after he leaves, he is discovered dead, with the lantern still burning bright in his hands.

All the passengers are strangers and we see how they interact with each other with the threat of the ghostly train possibly looming.

Suddenly there is a sound of an approaching train and the suspense is ramped up. But is there really such a thing as a ghost train and if not, what is going on at this small, remote railway station? And one of the passengers is not quite who they proclaim to be!

Having seen the play several times, it's one that I never get tired of seeing, and there are parts that still made me jump!

Saul Hodgkin, the station master, was played wonderfully by Roger Newman, complete with authentic Cornish accent. When he was relating the story of the ghost train, you could've heard a pin drop in the hall; we hung on to his every word!. And even when he had to be prompted for a line, he worked the glitch into the character in a professional and comedic way. What a pro!

Richard and Elsie Winthrop, played by Greg Nicholas and Avril McCormick, are a couple who love to disagree and are on the verge of separation, but due to the actions of these two throughout the play, they decide that a second honeymoon is due. Lovely chemistry with Greg and Avril giving their characters an "opposites attract" feel about them.

Newlyweds, Charlie and Peggy Murdock, played by Ben Bradley and Sophie Dobb, also are filled with chemistry and character; their eagerness to make it to their honeymoon suite thwarted by the terrible weather and the thought of having to trek five miles to the nearest place. Charlie gets to display his displeasure vocally, and Ben looked to have taken great pleasure at these outbursts, making some members of the audience jump. Peggy is quite mouse-like, again showing the two married couples at opposites of their spouses. Let's not forget though that this is set in 1925 when a woman is supposed to know her place, although there is a rebellious side to Elsie Winthrop.

Miss Bourne, is the elderly lady, who is also quite feisty. Played by the lovely Kathy Matthews she can give both barrels when rubbed up the wrong way, especially when the person doing the rubbing up is Teddie Deakin, the whole reason for the passengers missing their connecting train and stranding them at the station's waiting room.

Teddie Deakin not only rubs Miss Bourne up the wrong way but everyone else and continues this behaviour throughout the play with his tales of ghoulish tales and his wonderfully infective upper class laugh and way of talking. He had pulled the train's communication cord as he had stuck his head out of the window to watch the sparks fly from the wheels when his new hat was blown off and pulled the cord to retrieve the hat, but failed. Played marvellously by Danny Longbottom.

Later in the play we also meet Juliet Price who is trying to escape Herbert Price and Jane Sterling. Juliet is wonderfully off her rocker and is infatuated by the ghost train, Herbert and Jane, who says that she is a doctor, explains this away to the stranded passengers, after they tried to hide her from the pair. Juliet is played brilliantly la la by Kate Purdue and Herbert by Alistair Dobb - you can always spot a bad un can't you? Dr Sterling is played quite menacingly by Deborah Craddock.

The final character, who we get to meet right at the end is Jackson, the policeman who gets to cart some of the above away. Why? Well not everyone is who they say they are and the mystery of the ghost train is revealed. Jackson is played by David Matthews.

Directed by Patrick McDonough, this is a pacy production which really ramps up the suspense as the play steams along. Plenty of light and shade with the cast and the script and it's those parts where the quieter moments are that we get the best jump scares.

Sound by Colin Woolley and the lighting by Steve Pickerill really combine to bring the fear element to the play. Great job done by both.

The set was what you first notice and I commented in this to Production Manager, Christopher Mercer, just how good it was. The station waiting room looked as if it just been lifted from an old Cornish station form decades ago, complete with mould on the walls and dated fixtures and fittings. The props for the show having been provided by Bob and Chris Mercer.

Loved the costumes which also straight away placed you in the era that the play was set. I especially loved the "flapper girl" style outfit for the nutty Juliet. All the costumes were classy and extremely smart for both male and female characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this production as it had suspense, great character acting, comedy and sped along like an express train, even though it had three acts and two intervals. The hall was practically full on this opening night and I really hope that it continues to be this way because this train story is a runaway success.

"The Ghost Train" is being performed at Burton Joyce Village Hall until Saturday 1 October.