L-R: ?, ?, Brian Pullen, Jeanette Blake, John Fordham, Truda Pamment, Jeremy Franklin,
Rosemary Larkin, John Butcher, Shirley Martin, Owen Barber, Ken Beman: source John Butcher (1947)
L-R: ?, ?, Brian Pullen, Jeanette
Blake, John Fordham, Truda Pamment, Jeremy Franklin,
Rosemary Larkin, John Butcher, Shirley Martin, Owen
Barber, Ken Beman: source John Butcher (1947)
Last July members of the Fifth and Sixth Forms, ably assisted by some young local actresses, presented Arnold Ridley's melodrama, The Ghost Train. The producer, Mr. Joiner, is to be congratulated on his production which compared well with that of Ten Little Nigger Boys two years before.
Franklin was outstanding as the foppish Teddie Deakin (a detective in disguise), handling an enormously long cigarette-holder with ease and elegance and sporting a gaudy waistcoat made from curtain material. Barber spoke with a most convincing Cornish brogue and his story of the train was told in a way that did much to evoke the ghostly atmosphere of the play.
The excellent performance of Shirley Martin as the old lady who accidentally discovered the solace of alcohol brought many laughs. Her acting was splendid; her speech perhaps could have been a little older and more "mincing." Rosemary Larkin as Peggy, the newly-wed wife, was a very decorative addition to the play, and Butcher obviously found it easy to be zealously attentive to her as her young husband.
Fordham and Truda Pamment were equally convincing in their portrayal of a later stage in marriage; they were irritability personified. Tension was built up at the unexpected appearance of Jeanette Blake as the psychic girl "drawn" by the ghost train. Pullen, her attendant ("I'm a doctor, ladies and gentlemen") gave a most polished performance; his tender solicitude for his "patient" did not surprise those who knew Pullen.
L-R: Rosemary Larkin, John Butcher, John Fordham, Truda Pamment, Owen Barber,
Jeremy Franklin, Shirley Martin source: John Butcher (1947)Mr. Askem's set was convincingly drab; the lighting, arranged by Mr. Webb, was very effective, although at times perhaps a little too bright for a dingy gas-lit waiting room. An outstanding feature of the production was the most realistic use of the complicated sound-effects necessary to send the ghost train roaring through the station; the new tape-recorder was a great asset here. These effects - and the acting -e nsured that the audience were held spell-bound at the most dramatic moments.
R.J.T.
from the Soham Grammarian, New Year 1956
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page last updated 2 Aug 2003: images enlarged 23 Oct 10
