Brighton station’s abandoned underground tunnels are being used for theatre for the first time ever

For Halloween 2026, an abandoned train tunnel beneath Brighton station will host a theatre production for the very first time. This spooky season, immersive theatre company Hydrocracker Productions will put on a retelling of one of Charles Dickens’ most chilling ghost stories, The Signalman. 

Dickens wrote The Signalman in 1866 shortly after he had a traumatic near-death experience in the Staplehurst train crash. He helped to rescue fellow passengers from the wreckage and, in what many now consider a form of PTSD, he lost his voice for two weeks afterwards. He developed a fear of railway travel, and Dickens’ son reportedly said that the great writer was never the same again. 

Inspired by that crash, and several other fatal accidents around that time, the tale follows a traveller who meets a lonely signalman in a dark tunnel. The worker tells him of a phantom who appears before someone tragically dies on the railway, but the traveller is a rationalist and is sceptical of the claim. You’ll have to see the play to find out the rest. 

As well as the show itself, there’s an opportunity to go on a rare tour of the old tunnel network and find out more about this hidden part of Brighton. The tours will run on November 10, 14 and 29 and can be booked as part of a bundle with the show. On October 24, you can pair the performance with a talk from playwright Jonathan Holloway, who will speak about the process of adapting The Signalman for radio and stage.

The Signalman will run from October 15 until November 8. Tickets start from £20 and can be booked here. 

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