Chills, suspense and a Dickens classic opens at nature's greatest stage on Exmoor tonight

Nature’s greatest stage is about to see one of Dickens’ most haunting works presented with live outdoor theatre – and the legendary author’s great great grandson in the leading role.

Valley of Rocks at Lynton is the setting for a week-long run of The Signalman by Pleasure Dome Theatre Company, starting tonight (Friday, July 17 and running until Saturday, July 25.

There are shows every evening at 8pm, aside from a 3pm performance on Sunday (July 19) and a one day break on Monday.

The looming walls, fantastical rocks and atmosphere of Exmoor’s unique Valley of Rocks needs little introduction, but The Signalman may be unfamiliar to many – it is a particularly chilling and suspenseful tale written by the great author after he was involved in a traumatic train disaster.

Taking the role of The Signalman is Gerald Dickens, the great great grandson of Charles Dickens, who has performed numerous one-man shows of Dickens’ works, including this one, but never in such a spectacular natural arena.

Pleasure Dome has put a new take on the classic Dickens horror, but the eerie plot still sees a lonely railway signalman haunted by an apparition that appears before terrible tragedies on the line.

He relates his experiences to a visiting traveller and the chills and suspense deepen as the ghost story builds to its climax.

Gerald is joined by Ben Fensome as ‘The Visitor’ and a supporting cast of Pleasure Dome regulars and community actors.

We caught up with Gerald plus the rest of the cast and crew during a baking hot rehearsal on location in the valley and he was clearly bowled over by the location.

He said: “I've been performing one man shows for many, many years, but the opportunity to join this company and to perform The Signalman - which is one of Dickens' darker, more supernatural works - was just amazing and I actually leapt at the chance.

“I had never met any of these guys before; never seen this venue before, and came here for two weeks’ rehearsal and it's just been the best experience.

The company has created something that Charles Dickens would so approve of. It captures the atmosphere and the terror and the haunting nature of his words, but in a completely new way, a completely new telling - it's a brilliant bit of theatre by a whole ensemble.”

Gerald said he recalled walking through the area as a teenager but was impressed all over again by the “epic scale” of Valley of Rocks.

He add: “The descriptions in Dickens' original talk about this grandeur of the setting, this little signal box on a lonely railway line deep down in a cutting.

“So the rocks and these amazing hills around us just focus all of that onto this piece, it's just been incredible to be here and then when we have a break, I just get to look out to sea and look at this fantastic scenery and what a way to relax.

“I can't wait now, it's gone so well and as I say, the whole company are creating just through voice and action and movement, all of the atmosphere that Dickens wrote into the original, really making this a very, very haunting, intense piece of theatre. I think people are going to absolutely love it when they come to see it.”

Pleasure Dome has kept the deeply Victorian and Gothic feel of the original tale but has created its own retelling with themes that will resonate with modern audiences.

With the ghosts of railways past hovering around Exmoor, this adaptation also explores the themes of mental health, rural isolation and the devastating effects of the Beeching cuts on railways in the 1960s that continue to be felt to this day.

Ben Fensome, who plays the visitor with an added twist, said: “He comes from London, from the outside into this strange, eerie, supernatural world.

“He goes on this journey of rationality and thinking that he's helping the signalman and then suddenly things begin to happen and there may be more going on than meets the eye.

“Charles Dickens wrote this after he was involved himself in a pretty horrific train accident, he wrote the story about a year after and you really get the sense of him trying to kind of wrangle with the trauma of that.

“But obviously, in a kind of disconnected way, because there's this supernatural element to it and that's something that I think people will be surprised by, because there's some very, very deep stuff that comes out of this piece, which I think might take people off guard.”

Ben has acted in a previous Pleasure Dome production in the valley of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and has also written for the company.

He went on: “I just love coming back; it's just an amazing place to perform. You are open to the elements, but you don't have to worry too much about the acoustics because it's weirdly a sort of a sound box and all the sound bounces off the cliffs.

“It's just some magical place to be and it's a perfect place to have this kind of magical, supernatural, eerie ghost story.”

Company director Helena Payne said the planning and two weeks of rehearsal had so far gone very smoothly and everyone was looking forward to opening night.

She added: “We've made a really spectacular piece of theatre and we look forward to welcoming as many people to theatre in the wild at Valley of Rocks, nature's greatest stage.

“This is a story that will resonate with so many people who live in this part of the world, but also those who are interested in trains, those who love the magic and the craft of theatre making, there's lots for everybody and we look forward to welcoming them to the show.”

The Signalman plays nightly at Valley of Rocks, Lynton from Friday, July 17 through to Saturday, July 25, with the exception of a 3pm matinee on Sunday, July 19 and no performance on July 20.

Following the run of The Signalman at Valley of Rocks, the show will also play at Knackershole Garden Theatre near Dulverton on July 31, the Museum of Somerset on August 1, the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe on August 28 and at West Somerset Railway, Minehead, on September 4.

People are reminded Valley of Rocks is a wild environment, subject to a range of weather – please plan accordingly for an outdoor theatre experience with appropriate clothing, footwear and whatever food or drink you require.

For tickets to see the show at Valley of Rocks and the other venues listed this summer, please go to https://www.pleasuredometheatrecompany.com