Writer: Charles Dickens
Stage Adaption: Francis Evelyn
Director: Michael Lunney
Having created some of most famous ghosts in literature with A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens has form when it comes to stories about paranormal visitors. Like the four ghosts that visit Scrooge, the spirit in The Signalman also manifests itself to deliver dire warnings, although in a much less direct way than Ebenezeer’s festive spooks.
First published in 1866 (over two decades after A Christmas Carol), the short story on which this play is based tells of a railway signalman haunted by an apparition whose appearances precede train related tragedies. As the railway worker tells his story to a passing traveller, it becomes apparent that the spirit has returned and is delivering another vague warning of impending doom. Is this a true sign of things to come? If so, what? Or is the signalman simply imagining things?
This Middle Ground Theatre Company production is a restaging of their 2014 original production which had been presented as part of a ghostly anthology. This perhaps would be a better format for such a slight story, As it is, this newly expanded version feels quite overstretched even for its relatively short running time of two hours (including interval).
However, that being said, there is much to enjoy here, starting with the late Andy Martin’s amazing set made up of the raised interior of a signal box looming over a spooky train tunnel. Beautifully constructed, and dripping with detail and atmosphere, the set allows the small cast and relatively simple effects to really shine. It was designed by director Michael Lunney, whose blocking makes good use of the space and avoids any initial concern that most of the focus would be on the small interior area.
Chris Walker as the titular character and John Burton the traveller he befriends both deliver excellent performances, the former conveying dread and frustration, the latter sympathy and measured cynicism. They work very well in both their individual scenes, and in those they share.
The Signalman may be a little slow and bloated, but it contains enough genuine spooky atmosphere and chills, and a few effective scares, to make it a solid evening of entertainment perfect as the nights grow darker and the spooks get livelier.
Runs until 8th November 2025
