''Ghost from a Perfect Place'' is a two act

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Philip Ridley Philip Ridley (born 1957 in East London) is an English storyteller working in a wide range of artistic media. As a visual artist he has been cited as a contemporary of the 'Young British Artists', and had his artwork exhibited internationally. ...

. It was Ridley's third stage play and premiered at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

, London on 7 April 1994. The part of Travis Flood was played by the veteran, classical actor John Wood, for which he received general acclaim and was nominated for 'Best Actor' at the 1994 Evening Standard Drama Awards. The production was the third collaboration between Ridley and director Matthew Lloyd, who had directed all of Ridley's previous stage plays and would go on to direct Ridley's next play for adults '' Vincent River'' in 2000. The play is the third and final instalment in Ridley's unofficially titled "East End Gothic Trilogy", having been preceded by ''

The Pitchfork Disney ''The Pitchfork Disney'' is a 1991 stage play by Philip Ridley. It was his first professional stage work, having also produced work as a visual artist, novelist, filmmaker, and scriptwriter for film and radio. The play premiered at the Bush Theat ...

'' and ''

The Fastest Clock In The Universe ''The Fastest Clock in the Universe'' is a two act play by Philip Ridley. It was Ridley's second stage play and premiered at the Hampstead Theatre, London on 14 May 1992 and featured Jude Law in his first paid theatre role, playing the part of F ...

''. The play caused a great deal of controversy at its premiere due to a scene where an old East London gangster, played by Wood, is tortured by a gang of girls. The theatre critic of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Michael Billington, described the play as "degrading and quasi-pornographic." As with most of Ridley's work, however, the critical response was deeply divided, with

Sheridan Morley Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including ...

describing it as "a masterpiece" and John Peter, of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', declaring, "Ridley's work is an acquired taste and it looks like I'm getting it." The play along with Ridley's ''

'' and ''

'' grew in reputation years after their initial productions for being seminal works in the development of

in-yer-face theatre In-yer-face theatre is a term used to describe a confrontational style and sensibility of drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This term was borrowed by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz as the title of his book, ''In-Yer-Face Theat ...

. The terminology for this theatrical sensibility and style was popularised by

Aleks Sierz Aleks Sierz is a British theatre critic. He is known for coining the term "In-yer-face theatre", which was the title of a book he published in 2001. Sierz was educated at Manchester University and holds a PhD from Westminster University. He wor ...

in his 2001 book ''In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today'', which also features a section that analyses ''Ghost from a Perfect Place'' and its initial reception. Sierz has also cited the play as one of the first to be indirectly called "in-yer-face" by a critic, with Paul Taylor in his review for

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

describing the girl gang in the play as "the in-yer-face castrating trio".

Characters

Torchie Sparks – Seventy six years old, her leg has been severely damaged for many years as result of a fire which burnt through her flat. She has had to endure many tragic events in her life but maintains a sense of humour about her misfortune. She is very nostalgic towards life in London's East-End during the 1960s which she refers to as “the heydays”. Travis Flood – Seventy eight years of age. Travis was once a feared gang leader who lived and operated in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

during the 1960s. He has been away from London for 25 years but has decided to return to the East-End. Rio Sparks – Aged twenty-five, she is a prostitute and leader of a girl-gang called ‘The Disciples’. She lives with her grandmother Torchie. Miss Sulphur - Aged seventeen, she is a member of ‘The Disciples’. She often tries to keep the peace between members of the gang. Miss Kerosene - Aged twelve, she is the most hot-headed and violent of the three Disciples.

Notable Productions

World Premiere 7 April 1994 at

, London.
Directed by Matthew Llyod. *Torchie Sparks -

Bridget Turner Bridget Joanna Turner (22 February 1939 – 27 December 2014) was an English actress. She played a radical English teacher, Judy Threadgold, opposite Alun Armstrong's woodwork teacher in Alan Plater's ''Get Lost!'' for Yorkshire Television, sho ...

*Travis Flood - John Wood *Rio Sparks - Trevyn McDowell *Miss Sulphur - Rachel Power *Miss Kerosene - Katie Tyrrell 1998 revival (Bolton) At The Bolton octagon, Greater Manchester.
Directed by Lawrence Till. *Torchie Sparks - Ann Rye *Travis Flood - Christopher Wilkinson *Rio Sparks - Stephanie Buttle *Miss Sulphur - *Miss Kerosene - 1999 London revival 19 May 1999 at

White Bear Theatre The White Bear Theatre is a fringe theatre founded in 1988 at the White Bear pub in Kennington, London, and run by Artistic Director and founder Michael Kingsbury. It is one of London's leading pub theatres, as well as one of the longest establi ...

, London.
Directed Michael Kingsbury. *Travis Flood - John Aston *Torchie Sparks - Joy Graham *Performer - Sharon Gavin *Performer - Lauretta Gavin *Performer - Mika Simmons 2014 London RevivalWebpage of the 2014 London Revival of Ghost From a Perfect Place on The Arcola Theatre Website
/ref> 11 September 2014 at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is an Off West End theatre in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalst ...

, London.
Directed by Russell Bolam. *Torchie Sparks -

Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film ver ...

*Travis Flood -

Michael Feast Michael Feast (born 25 November 1946) is an English actor of stage and screen. He was born in Brighton, and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He performed in the original 1968 London production of ''Hair''. He worked several ti ...

*Rio Sparks - Florence Hall *Miss Sulphur - Scarlett Brookes *Miss Kerosene -

Rachel Redford Rachel Leonie Ford (born 1990/1991), known professionally as Rachel Redford, is a Welsh actress. She is best known for her theatre work. Early life Redford is from Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan. Her mother Jennifer Lewis is also an actress a ...

References

{{Philip Ridley Plays by Philip Ridley 1994 plays Plays set in London

Characters

Notable Productions

Further reading

References