Arnold Ridley’s The Ghost Train – Royal Exchange Manchester – 16th May2015

Theatrical wizardry meets slapstick humour when Arnold Ridley’s 1923 comedy thriller receives the Told by an Idiot treatment.

Told by an Idiot have chosen to celebrate their 25th anniversary with what must be the best known of Arnold Ridley’s substantial output for the stage. Ridley himself is best remembered for his role of Godfrey in TV’s Dad’s Army, and many devotees of the series might be surprised to find he was also an accomplished and popular playwright.

Since first appearing in 1923, The Ghost Train has been played for melodrama and it’s been played for laughs (notably in Walter Forde’s 1941 film, which was a vehicle for Arthur Askey and “Stinker” Murdoch) but Paul Hunter’s new staging for the Royal Exchange treads a line between, with laughs and surprises and even a witty nod, early in the first act, to its adaptations for Radio.

Playing the piece in the round in this very exposed and intimate performance space is a bold move that suits Told by an Idiot’s off the wall style perfectly, and affords boundless opportunities for tremendously theatrical moments, near slapstick scenes and witty asides to the audience.

The ensemble cast, some of whom are doubling roles, work with impeccable timing and, while all are excellent, there are some conspicuously memorable individual performances. Javier Marzan brings his inimitable physical style to the gloriously dotty Miss Bourne, the clown in him coming out in particular after she downs a bottle of brandy. Calum Finlay is the annoying but lovable Teddie, whose hat gets the party of travellers marooned at the ghostly station. Exchange audiences may remember him from Too Clever by Half, and here he’s a perfect fit in the plus-fours and flat cap. Marzan is not the only role reversal, with Amanda Hadingue donning a Captain Birdseye beard as the mysterious stationmaster Saul Hodgkin, while Joanna Holden takes a crowd-pleasing flight of fancy in one of her doubling roles.

The ingenuity with which trains come and go at the beginning and end are genuine theatrical magic, matched by some brilliant set pieces. The telling of the ghostly tale of the train crash is enacted with a madcap mixture of dramatic staging and humour, and the passing through of the eponymous apparition is brilliantly done.

The ghost train will make you laugh out loud and hold you on the edge of your seats, waiting not just for the inevitable twist in the tale but also to see what parlour trick they’ll pull out of their hats next.

The Ghost Train plays at Manchester’s Royal Exchange until 20th June 2015. Follow this link for details and tickets:

http://www.royalexchange.co.uk/whats-on-and-tickets/the-ghost-train

The Ghost Train - photo (c) Jonathan Keenan

King Lear – Northern Broadsides – Liverpool Playhouse 01/05/2015

Jonathan Miller finds an introspective and understated Lear in Barrie Rutter.

Both Northern Broadsides and their Artistic Director Barrie Rutter have played against type to great effect in this new touring production. Broadsides often fill their stage with a riot of detailed sets and movement but for their new Lear, designer Isabella Bywater has pared everything back to a square raised acting area on an empty black stage, throwing the performers into sharp relief.

Not only does this have the effect of deepening the darkness of what must be one of Shakespeare’s most doom-laden tragedies, but it also heightens the senses of the audience to the action.

Here is a very strong cast. Helen Sheals and Nicola Sanderson’s Goneril and Regan have their scheming thinly veiled, while Catherine Kinsella’s Cordelia finds a balance that leaves us unsure how far we can trust her. Al Bollands has side-stepped into the role of Edmund part way through the tour but his command of the Machiavellian bastard son is truly disturbing. Jack Wilkinson is a sympathetic Edgar, and his loinclothed, mud-daubed transformation to Poor Tom is delicately done. Andrew Vincent and John Branwell are also well cast as Kent and Gloucester, and Vincent effects his disguise as Caius convincingly.

The true revelation of the production, though, is Barrie Rutter’s Lear. Not noted for underplaying roles (remember Rutherford and Son, also under Miller’s direction) here he is astonishing in his restraint. There is all the necessary bluster in the early scenes, but as Lear descends into madness, Rutter appears to shrink back within himself and the effect is both painful and deeply moving. The storm scene too, whilst suitably terrifying, is staged for drama rather than, as is often the case, for histrionic effect, and the blinding of Gloucester is discreetly dealt with in a shroud of mist.

Both Fine Time Fontayne’s shabby Pierrot of a Fool and Jos Vantyler’s scheming, foppish Oswald manage to get the laughs whilst never losing the darkness of their characters.

There are good supporting performances from the remaining cast, notably Ben Burman who has stepped in to play France, a Knight and a Soldier, parts previously occupied by Al Bollands before his mid-tour role change.

Northern Broadsides can always be relied upon to fill houses, but they also have the capacity to surprise, and this production stands out as a prime example of their versatility as a company.

King Lear continues its tour via The Lowry Salford, York University, Rose Theatre Kingston and Newcastle New Vic until 13th June.

Barrie Rutter as King Lear - Photo (c) Nobby Clark