Clapham Fringe Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

The Signalman

Bread & Roses Theatre

Reviewed – 13th October 2019

★★★

“As a literary exercise about an intriguing moment in history it is well constructed and makes some significant points, but as a theatrical, period thriller, it never quite grips us”

Deeply affected by escaping a train derailment unscathed, Charles Dickens wrote ‘The Signalman’ as a Christmas ghost story which also allowed a social comment on the problems of safety and the pressurised working conditions on the railway. Appealing to the Victorians’ fascination with the supernatural as well as focusing on a hot topic of the day, Dickens’ tale is an interesting insight into an era of the juxtaposed worlds of spirituality and technical innovation. Through the anxiety of the signalman and his premonitory visions, he describes the psychological wear and tear of a lonely job requiring little skill but which shoulders the huge responsibility of passenger safety. The narrator spots the signalman at the bottom of a steep railway cut and out of curiosity, decides to befriend him. Although a somewhat underwhelming storyline for today’s audience, the sense of mystery comes from the initial impression the signalman gives to the narrator of his ‘troubled’ mind and which grows as the narrative between them becomes more involved. From the outset, Dickens’ protagonist is clearly haunted by the mental strain of long nights listening out for the warning bell to avert any possible catastrophe.

Faithful to the original text, Martin Malcolm’s stage adaptation reconstructs the dialogue as a monologue by the signalman and introduces Joe, a crossing sweeper, as his silent listener. The production opens with the signalman clearing the aftermath of an accident and recounting it in detail to the sweeper. The account weaves in details of the Staplehurst disaster itself, at which Dickens helped his fellow travellers who lay injured. As the play goes on, we hear how the signalman is increasingly disturbed by the stranger who stands at the mouth of the tunnel, his warnings and the tragedies which follow. Tim Larkfield, as the Signalman, does a good job in creating and sustaining his character from the script but, single-handed, the build-up of tension is a strain. Rather than being drawn into the sensation of foreboding suspense, what results is more of a thoughtful take on the Victorian dramatic monologue. Unfortunately, considering the amount of time she is on stage, Helen Baranova also misses an opportunity for an imaginative cameo role as Joe. Even as a mute waif, her purpose as a vehicle for the storytelling could bring dimension to the whole performance with a thought-through, Dickensian personality – Smike, for example – rather than simply following with facial echoing.

The direction (Sam Raffal) is clean cut and incorporates an illusory soundscape and some dramatic lighting, especially towards the end, but to lure the audience with the torments of the signalman, it needs more of these ideas throughout. As a literary exercise about an intriguing moment in history it is well constructed and makes some significant points, but as a theatrical, period thriller, it never quite grips us.

Reviewed by Joanna Hetherington

The Signalman

Bread & Roses Theatre as part of Clapham Fringe

Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:

Just To Sit At Her Table, Silver Hammer & Mirabilis | ★★★ | April 2019

Starved | ★★★★★ | April 2019

The Mind Reading Experiments | ★★★ | May 2019

The Incursion | ★★½ | July 2019

Coco’s Adventures | ★★★ | September 2019

Room Service | ★★★★★ | September 2019

The Bacchae | ★★★ | September 2019

Trial Of Love | ★★★½ | September 2019

The Gravy Bunch | ★★½ | October 2019

Smashing It! | ★★ | October 2019

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★★★★

“A fairy tale lexicon mixed with nursery rhymes meets with unbearable reality”

Edwards Lear: the great lyricist and poet, admired for his wit and obfuscating limericks. Shea Donovan, writer and star of ‘By the Light of the Moon’, performed at this years’ Clapham Fringe Festival, introduces him in the forward to the play, handed to me on my climb to the hidden theatre space above ‘The Bread and Roses’ pub. Beneath the light brevity of Lear’s rhyme, lie misfits and madness, indications of the darker bouts of depression he himself suffered, I learn, as I take my seat.

Shea explores the injustice served to women in the 1920s, who suffered from mental health problems which were undiagnosed and severely misunderstood. Lila is locked away in an asylum for women, abandoned by her family and forced to make sense of her life events. The one woman show amplifies a long-forgotten voice, resurrecting a story of sheer tragic import which we know to have been based on real circumstance faced by women. She flits from therapeutic chants of nonsensical rhyme and childish wails for her nan and her final friend Gertrude, to deeper poetry, darker moments which shed tragic clarity upon her own life.

Two wooden chairs sit at diagonal corners of the square space and are an intelligent addition to a featureless stage, accentuating a bareness and institutional coldness. They look uncomfortable and lifeless as they are left untouched throughout the play.

Shea enters clad in a plain white frock and with lose hair and light make-up, she brandishes a black cloth. At times, she crouches to meticulously scrub a small square of the floor. The image is Cindarella-esque contrasting with the 1920s music which chimes in the background at the change of scene, providing smooth structural progression and a richness of sound. This is a painful scene of female suppression laced in a fairy-tale picture-frame.

The lighting takes us from blue to rose as we travel from melancholy to past rosy realms of romance. Yet as the past is etched clear, the colour changes become sickly sweet.

Shea Donovan is superb as a 1920s innocent, wonderfully frank and observant, she pieces together her life. A moment of climax sees her spiralling into despair when she is asked the year and she cannot remember. Her masterful portrayal is raw as her confusion escalates rapidly to a sudden moment of anger and violence.

Indigo Arts Collective’s ‘By the Light of the Moon’ successfully achieves what this new theatre company set out to do, piecing together research from the past to speak to modern day audiences. A fairy tale lexicon mixed with nursery rhymes meets with unbearable reality. The contrast is stark; the injustice laid bare for all to see.

Reviewed by Amy Faulkner