THE clock is ticking down to the latest production by Penarth Operatic & Dramatic Society (PODS) who are putting on one of the most famous plays in theatrical history.

They will present The Ghost Train at the Paget Rooms. There will be four performances from Wednesday, 8 October to Saturday, 11 October, all starting at 7.30pm.

Tickets can be booked via this link.

Arnold Ridley, best known as Private Godfrey from the BBC's Dad's Army, and who was a decorated veteran of both World Wars, wrote The Ghost Train in 1923. The play saw a successful West End run from to 1925 to 1927 and enjoyed numerous revivals, inspired several film adaptations starting with a 1927 silent film, and then was adapted for radio in 2010.

The play tells how, on a stormy evening, a group of stranded travellers at a lonely rural railway station confront the unsettling legend of a deadly ghost train that haunts the tracks.

Despite warnings from the station master who attempts to persuade them to leave, they stay, risking an encounter with the infamous train that brings death to those who see it.

The Ghost Train promises a chilling blend of suspense and surprise thrills with a dash or dark humour.

If you want a ticket book it as quickly as you can, there will be no standing room when the train arrives!

The play is as old as PODS itself! Penarth's premier amateur dramatics society, PODS, has been entertaining the public since the mid 1920s, typically producing four shows each year....a March play, a May musical, an October play, and a December pantomime.

The society was founded in Autumn 1924 and celebrated its centenary last year.

They needed to persuade other like minded people to join them. They achieved just that, and Penarth Amateur Operatic Society was born! Our first musical outing was the comedy opera, "Iolanthe" by Gilbert & Sullivan in April 1925.

The drama section kicked off in 1929 with "A Little Bit Of Fluff" by Walter W Ellis, marking the transition to PODS. In comparison, pantomime was a very late arrival, with "Cinderella" in 1998. 

To read more about the society's history, check out its Past Shows page.