The Signalman
I need your help. You know how it begins. How it always begins. Enter the tunnel and be part of the story. There is nothing to fear...
This is how it begins. How it always begins. ‘Hello below there! Look out!’
Charles Dickens’ masterful ghost story The Signalman re-imagined in an abandoned railway tunnel under Brighton Station.
Critically acclaimed Hydrocracker have created sell out shows in iconic locations (Erpingham Camp on Brighton Pier, The New World Order in Brighton Town Hall). They now bring a new version of Dickens’ psychological thriller The Signalman to Cab Road Tunnel.
A razor-sharp adaptation by Jonathan Holloway directed by Hydrocracker Co-Director Nathan Crossan-Smith, with sound design by Matt Huxley.
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Talks & Tunnel Tours
The Signalman & Tunnel Tour Bundle
Tue 10 Nov, 2pm (wheelchair accessible tour), Sat 14 & Sun 29 Nov, 11am
Book Here: Select a performance date & a tour date to create your bundle
One of Brighton’s best kept secrets is the maze of old tunnels under the Station. Experienced guide Rob Whitehead will take you on a rare tour of these and other hidden, secret parts of Brighton station which will give you an exciting insight into not only the history of the railways but the society that made them.
Please be aware each tour lasts 90 minutes and involves walking over often difficult terrain, Tue 10 Nov tour is designed specifically to include wheelchair access.
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The Signalman & Post Show Talk: Adapting Dickens
Sat 24 Oct, 5.30pm (The Signalman performance starts 4pm)
Acclaimed Playwright Jonathan Holloway will talk about the challenges of adapting a ghost story like The Signalman for both radio and stage. The Signalman has become an audience favourite when it comes to theatrical spookers… but there's more to it. Dickens himself was in a railway crash shortly before writing it and was ashamed by his own selfish behaviour amongst the wreckage.
This context, combined with the fact that he was a political agitator for worker's rights and was very sceptical about industrial money makers allows (and he will argue for) The Signalman to be seen as one of the darkest and most frightening of Dickens’ stories of human greed conjured into physical reality. As the servant says while serving at the table, ‘enjoy…’
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The Signalman & Preshow Talk: Charles Dickens & The Railways
Sun 25 Oct, 2.30pm (The Signalman performance starts 4pm)
Pre-show talk is held in Brighton Toy & Model Museum which is wheelchair accessible
Professor Tom Wright, a 19th-century literature specialist from The University of Sussex and an unabashed railway enthusiast, will be giving a special public lecture exploring how trains shaped Dickens’ imagination: from the exhilaration of speed and the clamour of crowds to the dark shadow of the Staplehurst crash that nearly killed him. Beneath the tracks themselves, join us for a talk that brings to life the thrill, terror and sheer noise of the Victorian railway age.
Information about the Venue
The Signalman will take place in an unheated old railway tunnel. You will walk across uneven flooring in dim light and the environment may be cold to sit in. As such we ask that you bear this in mind with your choice of footwear and clothing.
The performance lasts 75 minutes without an interval - nearest toilets and access to water will be 5 minutes away inside Brighton station so please arrive prepared and bring a soft drink. Due to the quiet nature of the performance we will minimise entry and exit to the performance space unless due to an access requirement / emergency.
'Theatre with purpose'The Guardian
'One of the UK’s most exciting and experimental theatre groups'Financial Times
'Robust, inventive performance at its best'The Times
Trailer
Gallery
'There is no longer a comfort zone to watch from.'The Independent
'One of the most gripping pieces of theatre you will ever see.'Manchester Evening News
Cast
THE SIGNALMAN – OLIVER CLAYTON
Theatre includes: And Then There Were None (Royal & Derngate, Northampton); The Play That Goes Wrong (Mischief Theatre); Man Down, Much Ado About Nothing (Exploding Whale); The Fall, Beat (National Youth Theatre).
Screen includes: Flatmates, Overshadowed, Doctors (BBC).
THE VISITOR – JEM WALL
Theatre includes: Henry VIII, Great Expectations (RSC); Richard II, Machine Wreckers (National Theatre); Midsummer Night’s Dream, Golden Ass (Globe); 55 Days and Death Of Cool (Hampstead); Andorra (Young Vic); Little Baby Nothing (Bush); Serious Money (Royal Court); The Sea (Haymarket); The Birds (Gate): Mohicans(Donmar; A Month In The Country (Chichester); The Hook (Northampton); Much Ado About Nothing (Liverpool Everyman); Antigone, Metamorphosis, Heart Of A Dog (Bristol Old Vic); All My Sons, Musik (Plymouth); Recruiting Officer (Salisbury); The Tempest (A and BC).
Screen includes; Andor, Game Of Thrones, Doctor Who, Call The Midwife, The Royal Kill List, Da Vinci’s Demons, Eastenders, Judge John Deed, The Chief, Maisie Raine, Of Pure Blood, My Week With Marylin and Bloodyminded.
Creative Team
NATHAN CROSSAN-SMITH – DIRECTOR
Nathan is Co-Director for Hydrocracker, a Trustee for disability-led company Graeae.
He is a Deutsche Bank Award Winner and Runner up for both the Royal Theatrical Support Trust Sir Peter Hall Directors Award and JMK Award and a Finalist for the Genesis Directors Award. He was a Best Director nominee at the Stage Debut Awards. He trained at LAMDA, the National Theatre’s Directors Course and with Royal Ballet and Opera.
Directing includes: The Walrus Has a Rich to Adventure; A Monster Calls (Liverpool Everyman), The Trails (Storyhouse), WHO CARES 2032 (Hydrocracker, Royal & Derngate Northampton), Romeo and Juliet (Orange Tree), Richard II; Much Ado About Nothing (LAMDA), Tender Crush (Donmar Warehouse, Take the Stage), The Voyage Out after Virginia Woolf (Northern School of Contemporary Dance Research Commission), Hurricane Protest Songs (Graeae), 140bpm (National Theatre Learning), Before it Rains by Thea Gajic (National Youth Theatre), Fire in the Youth, My Story, Dreamscape (National Theatre Wales, as lyricism associate), 20 Stories of Home (20 Stories High).
Associate Directing includes: Rite by Hear (Dir. James Bonas, Jane Mitchell Aurora Orchestra, Southbank Centre), Operation Black Antler (Dir. Matt Adams, Blast Theory & Hydrocracker, Southbank Centre), Strangers on a Train Set (Dir. Laurence Till, Lipservice National Tour).
Film and audio includes: MISH + GRAHAM by Thea Gajic and Rebecca Saffir (Hydrocracker), Before the Flame Goes Out by Raymond Antrobus (Hydrocracker), Half Blue by Ava Wong Davies (Audible), Bloodymided (as Second AD, Blast Theory, 14-18 NOW), A Place Free Of Judgement (as Floor Manager, Blast Theory).
RICHARD HAHLO – CO-DIRECTOR
Richard Hahlo is an Actor, Director, and a Co-founder of Hydrocracker.
As an actor his work has included the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, Leeds Playhouse, Contact Manchester, Red Shift and London’s West End.
For Hydrocracker he has co-created and acted in ’The New World Order’, ’Shakespeare à La Carte’, ’The Erpingham Camp’ and ‘Operation Black Antler’.
He recently Co-directed (with Jem Wall) an immersive production of ‘1984' at Hackney Town Hall.
Richard is also a Co-founder and Director of ‘Dramatic Resources’, and the co-author of ‘Dramatic Events: How to Run a Successful Workshop’.
SONIA HOGG – DESIGNER
Sonn Hogg studied Theatre Design at Northbrook College.
Set and/or costume design credits include: Band of Brothers for HBO, Theatre shows for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai, Robin Cousins’ “Ice”, Beauty and the Beast - The Haymarket, UB40, “Privates on Parade” - Anscombe Productions, “Deathdrop 2 Back in the Habit” Trafalgar Entertainment.
Along with Theatre and Television design credits Sonn has had a very busy time working as a Wardrobe Mistress both touring globally and as part of the in-house team at the Theatre Royal Brighton where she provides Wardrobe support services to visiting productions. Along with this she also greatly enjoys hosting Wardrobe workshops for young adults looking to come in to the arts as a career.
When not creating or working on shows Sonn can be found in her workroom hat making for shows and private clients, credits for Millinery include “Evita” World Tour and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”. Her client list includes Priscilla Presley, and has had her work featured in British Vogue.
JOHN HUNTER – FILM/PHOTOGRAPHY
John Hunter is a creative director, photographer and cinematographer with 17 years of experience in interactive, immersive, and mixed reality media. His creative collaborations with studios including Hydrocracker, Blast Theory and Punchdrunk, alongside his own company non zero one, focuses on human interaction mediated by emerging technologies.
