The Signalman

About

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.

Make your experience extra special with Tunnel Tour and Pre/Post Show Talks bundles

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.

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...’

The Signalman & Preshow Talk: Charles Dickens & The Railways

Sun 25 Oct, 2.30pm (The Signalman performance starts 4pm)

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.