This Christmas, audiences are invited to experience a nerve-tingling festive treat as Mudlark Creative, in collaboration with Drayton Arms Theatre, presents The Signalman — a chilling new full-length dramatisation of Charles Dickens’ classic ghost story.
From 10 December 2025 to 2 January 2026, theatre-goers will be transported into the haunted railway cutting at Clayton Signal Box, where the line between the living and the spectral blurs in a deeply atmospheric staging.
A chance encounter brings together two strangers: The Visitor, newly freed from the monotony of office life, and The Signalman, a solitary figure tormented by terrifying premonitions. As the story unfolds, dread seeps through the air, building to a haunting climax that will leave audiences questioning what they’ve seen – and what lies beyond.
With surround sound enveloping the audience – a first for Drayton Arms Theatre – and immersive multi-sensory design, The Signalman offers a fresh and spine-chilling take on Dickens’ timeless tale of guilt, isolation, and fate.
The Signalman is not just watched, but experienced.
We sat down with the production's dramatiser, director and producer Jennie-Mae James to learn more.
What can you tell me about this production of The Signalman?
The Signalman is arguably one of the best ghost stories ever written, certainly Dickens’ spookiest. The action of the book takes place entirely in a remote railway cutting and our production utilises the whole of the theatre, as if the spaces are members of the cast themselves. The stage plays the part of the railway and its signal box alongside other places we’ve added to help set the scene. The auditorium plays the steep, craggy, damp path down to it. Steve Ramondt’s sound plot is another player itself, barely ever stopping so the silences are almost more noticeable than the sounds themselves. Having worked on The Whistling at The Mill at Sonning, I was struck by how the sound operator once became concerned that his machine had developed a fault, before realising that was one of the few moments there was no sound. We’ll probably have a similar moment on this show!
What attracted you to this piece in particular?
I first read The Signalman so long ago that I couldn’t tell you. But as someone who has loved theatre and the railways in equal measure forever there’s no surprise it spoke to me. The is Signalman is cathartic as hell, bringing together these two people in such an unusual, almost claustrophobic, setting. Two lost souls thrown together in a remote railway cutting, with almost no outside human interaction, Dickens’ Signalman and Visitor connect in a way that would be practically impossible in other circumstances and so it’s the perfect exploration of how we connect with other people when no-one is else around to affect us. Something I particularly love is that the story contains so many throwaway nuggets that it was almost too easy expanding it to a full length. And my company keep rightly reminding me it’s not really about the trains, but I couldn’t resist the chance to put on a bit of railway drama that actually resembles the real thing for once!
What is your creative process like when you start on a project like this?
I don’t see myself as a writer who comes up with ideas as much as one who channels them. I often start in one direction only to find the characters doing their own thing, much to my surprise. For example, one of my long term projects is a series of novels featuring the adventures of a non-verbal autistic girl and her crow friend. I’ve watched words appearing on a page and gone “flipping heck, poor kid!” - part of me feels a bit bad about trying to claim credit for the stuff I write! With adaptations like this that’s even more true, but it’s the same process, maybe even more so. Because the base material is already there I feel like I’m just guiding it into a different form. It’s a wonderful, beautiful thing to see the end product and feel a sense of pride for helping a story be told.
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| Avatar created by Jennie-Mae James |
How much research do you do whilst developing your creative ideas?
Honestly, I’ve spent more hours on Google than is good for me over the last few months, but it’s much more detailed than that. Very early on I made the decision to bring everyone straight away into one WhatsApp chat, and this has prompted a spirit of inqusitiveness across the team that kept us asking questions the whole way. Peter Rae was sent off to the Kent and East Sussex Railway to learn how to look like a Signalman, for example, and we sent a Doctor of History off squealing “I was made for this moment!” with a bunch of detailed questions. If any of the team spots something that doesn’t look right, I know about it very fast!
How does an intimate setting like Drayton Arms Theatre help in allowing for setting the scene for this chilling ghost story?
It’s absolutely perfect. A core element of the production is that the audience should feel like they’re sitting in the railway cutting itself. I wanted to fall somewhere between a traditional play and full-on immersive, sort of like you’re sitting ON the fourth wall. Drayton Arms Theatre lets me do that not only because the playing space feels so intimate but also because the acoustics mean that sound carries naturally without any need to push or amplify. The building feels like it’s part of the story, too. It’s the same kind of age and I remain unconvinced it’s not haunted itself, so I just hope whoever that might be doesn’t mind a different spectre being invoked in its space!
The production uses multi-sensory design to enhance the experience for an audience, How have you approached the design alongside the rest of the creative team?
Like I said before, the production team has worked shoulder-to-shoulder from day 1, meaning that whenever one of us has an idea it is communicated straight away. We’ve only had two production meetings at this point, because we’ve genuinely not needed them so much. This has meant that my surround effects as I like to call them have grown up organically alongside the developments made by the rest of the team. It wouldn’t work for every production and I know I’ve been truly spoiled by this one! The other way this has worked so well is simply separating out the effects from the general lighting and sound, designing a low wall that will deal with most of the requirements of passing trains without impacting on the rest of the show. So it’s been a sort of wonderful mix of isolating different requirements and working shoulder to shoulder throughout.
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on you?
I knew I was interested in theatre from a young age, getting involved in productions at school, and playing at being the DJ, much my parents’ frustration, whenever we visited my Uncle. I even went to a Stagecoach school for a term, but spent more time stage managing everyone else than acting. My big inspiration was a school visit to The Woman in Black. I couldn’t touch a doorknob for days, but the gloriously clever storytelling the production uses stayed with me forever. I’ve now seen it multiple times, got my daughter hooked on it too, and even operated lights for it at The Alexandra. There’s quite something of The Woman in the way I’ve put The Signalman together too, so I’m hugely grateful to them for giving me that inspiration and impact.
What keeps you inspired?
The creative process is such an incredible thing to be involved with, when you do it right. I am surrounded by the most dedicated, thoughtful and giving people on this show. Every single one of them has given 300%, ready to offer an opinion when they see something can be improved, or if I’m being daft. Which is a lot of the time. I make every effort to ensure the whole team is able to be a part of the journey, and this brings incredible rewards. When people know they can be part of your vision, they become energised and enthused, and grow to be more than just their own role. Seeing people build alongside the production gives me a sense of immense pride, and this has happened the whole way through on The Signalman. If I can work with more teams like I’ve been blessed with on this show, I will never lose that inspiration.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing The Signalman?
I want people to go away feeling like they can enjoy Christmas all the more. I love this time of year, but find it gets too much. The festive season becomes a time for forced happiness and I want to give something of a little cathartic balance back, hoping to make the sweetness less excessive and unwelcome. It’s something like adding salt to caramel or pepper to strawberries. Rather than cancelling the sweetness, the savoury tastes help one appreciate the sweetness all the more. The great British tradition of ghost stories around the Christmas tree feels like it’s something similar - it gives us a way to enjoy the season all the more. The Christmas Carol is one of the most famous but of course my beloved Woman in Black too. We love our ghosts to be festive! I want my audiences to leave carrying the cathartic creepiness with them and able to feel the happiness of Christmas all the more for it.
The Signalman runs at Drayton Arms Theatre from Wednesday 10th December until Friday 2nd January 2026. Tickets are available from https://www.thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk/the-signalman
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