Stockton and Darlington Ghost Train by Charlie Meecham.

Recently, I have been documenting the preparation and performances that have taken place in Stockton and Darlington to celebrate the introduction of the first steam train which ran between these two towns in 1825. The engine was famously called Locomotion 1. A lot of the fabrication for the show took place in the Jute Shed in Dean Clough, Halifax and a number of the participants, makers including costumes, musicians and performers, live and work around West Yorkshire. The concept and story line was also proposed by this core group and directed by Avanti with production support from Walk The Plank. The production was very ambitious and spectacular, involving a lot of people to help make it happen, including students from Hartlepool School of Art and council support in Stockton and Darlington. My photographs are an attempt to show the huge attention to detail and commitment necessary to make a production like this possible and also the camaraderie. On reflection it seemed a lot of work just for two performances and on top of that the weather was not good for Darlington as it rained most of the day but Stockton turned out to be perfect for the staged show. I’m hoping to show some of the photographs in exhibition format next year in Dean Clough and would also like to produce a publication to reflect on the outside performance so that there is some lasting memory of this event. There is a strong tradition of street theatre in this area going back to Welfare State and IOU to name just two.

The stage in Stockton-on-Tees