Review: The Signalman, Bridewell Theatre

How much does an audience need to see to become frightened? In The Signalman, sometimes almost nothing at all. Dan Dawes’ contemporary adaptation of Charles Dickens’ ghost story turns the tunnels of the London Underground into a place where darkness conceals more than it reveals, allowing the imagination to do much of the frightening work.

The story follows a young man who misses his last train and encounters a deeply troubled signalman. As the older man recounts the disturbing incidents he has witnessed underground, the visitor attempts to explain them away as coincidences. Yet the longer they remain together, the less convincing those explanations become.

The production’s greatest achievement lies in its exceptional use of lighting and sound. A low, almost imperceptible drone fills the auditorium before the performance even begins, establishing an unease that never entirely disappears. Julian Starr’s sound design builds tension through carefully controlled changes in volume and texture. Intermittent radio interference can emerge almost unnoticed or suddenly demand the audience’s attention, while a particularly effective sequence transforms electronic distortion into a recorded human voice. The realistic sound effects make the unseen world beyond the stage feel disturbingly present.

Andrew Whadcoat’s lighting is equally accomplished. Although the stage remains extremely dim, the colours are remarkably precise, with saturated reds cutting sharply through the darkness. The limited visibility creates opportunities for the audience’s imagination to take over. At one point, an ordinary bin becomes almost indistinguishable from a shadowy human figure.

Some of the simplest effects are also the most ingenious. Two spotlights directed towards the auditorium suggest an approaching train with remarkable effectiveness. By dazzling the spectator and concealing whatever lies behind them, they allow the mind to complete the illusion. Similarly, during the signalman’s opening patrol, his torch appears to float through the darkness, its holder almost entirely invisible.

The use of haze is particularly impressive. Dense clouds rise into red light, creating an oppressive atmosphere that continues into subsequent scenes. As the characters move through the space, the haze appears to hang above first one and then the other, visually reflecting the shifting weight of their fear. This subtle relationship between lighting, atmosphere and blocking is beautifully judged.

Both performers give convincing portrayals of psychological distress. Dawes establishes his exhausted, hypervigilant signalman almost immediately, appearing like someone who has endured years without proper sleep. James G. Nunn’s transformation as the young man is equally compelling: initially offering rational explanations to reassure the signalman, he gradually begins repeating those explanations to reassure himself, before finally surrendering to terror.

Yet The Signalman is more than an exercise in theatrical scares. Beneath its supernatural mystery lies a concern with the histories buried beneath the city, and the people and tragedies that disappear from collective memory. Perhaps the ghosts are not simply trying to frighten the living, but demanding to be remembered.

With its inventive technical design, assured performances and thoughtful treatment of the past, The Signalman demonstrates how much can be achieved by showing an audience less, and trusting their imagination to reveal more.

Writer: Dan Dawes
Original story by Charles Dickens
Director: Dan Dawes and Autumn Evelyn
Lighting Designer & Operator: Andrew Whadcoat
Sound Designer: Julian Starr
Costume & Set Designer: Juliette Demoulin
Stage Manager: Billy Parkes
Deputy Stage Manager: Emily Speed
Produced by: Dan Dawes, Nina Flitman, James G. Nunn, Alex Pearson, Robert Gordon Clark and Lisa Day (Play GC Theatre Co.)
Presented by: Idle Discourse, with support from Play GC Theatre

The Signalman plays at Bridewell Theatre until Saturday 31 October.