Told By An Idiot & The Royal Exchange Theatre to Present THE GHOST TRAIN

Royal Exchange Theatre and Told by an Idiot continue their collaboration with a new production of Arnold Ridley's The Ghost Train - they previously worked together on You Can't Take It With You and Too Clever By Half. The production opens on 19 May, with previews from 14 May, and runs until 20 June.

Told by an Idiot bring their trademark wit, flare and theatrical invention to this classic ghost story, with their Artistic Director Paul Hunter directing Calum Finlay (Teddie Deakin), Amanda Hadingue (Julia Price & Saul Hodgkin), Sam Alexander (Richard Winthrop), Ayesha Antoine (Elsie Winthrop) Javier Marzan (Miss Bourne & Herbert Price), Will Merrick (Charles Murdock), Lena Kaur (Peggy Murdock), Femi Elufowoju Jr. (John Sterling) and Joanna Holden (Miss Bourne's Parrott / Jackson).

If that train be natural, where does it come from... and where does it go to?

A group of passengers are left stranded at a remote railway station, facing the prospect of a night in the waiting room. But when the old stationmaster warns them about the phantom train that haunts the tracks after dark, the evening starts to take one chilling turn after another.

A ghostly driver, sudden deaths and a travelling parrot make this 1920s thriller an unnervingly hilarious exploration of our capacity for belief in the supernatural.

Paul Hunter commented, "The Ghost Train is not normally the kind of play that would be produced in the round. The challenge of staging action that would normally happen off stage and of using every inch of that extraordinary space will be really thrilling."

Paul Hunter is co-founder and artistic director of Told by an Idiot. He has worked on all Told by an Idiot shows to date as director/devisor/performer. His other directing credits include Every Last Trick (Royal & Derngate, Northampton), The Mouse and His Child (RSC), Low Pay, Don't Pay (Salisbury Playhouse), Senora Carrar's Rifles (Young Vic), Not With That Hand (BAC), Ordago (for Punto Finco in Bilbao).

The production will have several wrap around events, including a post-show discussion, a Behind the Scenes pre-show event, as well as Between the Lines - a play reading and discussion group, and a comprehensive schools workshop programme.

Also, in a first for the Royal Exchange, they will stage their first relaxed performance, which will take place on 9 June at 2.30pm

THE GHOST TRAIN is sponsored by Manchester Airport Group.

Told by an Idiot creates theatre for national and international touring and for specific spaces. They set out to explore the human condition by celebrating and revelling in a style of theatre that is bigger than life. The company always seeks to acknowledge the artifice of theatre and makes no attempt to put reality on stage. They remain, however, fascinated by the fine line between comedy and tragedy that exists in the real world. Through collaborative writing, anarchic physicality and a playful but rigorous approach to text, the company is committed to creating a genuinely spontaneous experience for the audience. Using a wealth of imagery and a rich theatrical language, they aim to tell universal stories that are accessible to all.

Told by an Idiot is an Arts Council England funded theatre company and in 2015 they celebrate their 22nd birthday.