The Characters of ELECTRIC DREAMS: The Commuter

26 September 2017

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ED JACOBSON (played by Timothy Spall)

A seemingly ordinary, good-hearted guy, but this is largely a mask that hides a sadness rooted deep inside him. He works as a train station attendant and his main aim is to get through the day unscathed, but the wearisome passengers don’t make it easy and neither does his tumultuous home life.  He married the love of his life, Mary, but their love waned long ago.  Caring for their 15-year-old son, Sam, who has a psychotic disorder, has driven a wedge between them and Ed is trapped in his own life. But following his trip to Macon Heights, he must choose between the happiness of fantasy and the pain of reality.

LINDA (played by Tuppence Middleton)

Linda is the key to the mysterious town of Macon Heights.  Rather imperious, she’s very precise, certain about everything and the only rules she follows are her own.  She’s secure in her own power and possesses a dry sense of humour.  Is she is a devil, or an angel, or perhaps something in between…

MARY (played by Rebecca Manley)

Ed and Mary are the love of each other’s lives, but caring for their 15-year-old son, Sam, has seen that love diminish.  She is well put together, but clearly worn down and beaten by life as she struggles to hold things together when Sam’s behaviour becomes unmanageable. She has grown weary of Ed and the plastered smile he puts on for the world.  When Macon Heights creates an alternate reality that doesn’t include Sam, we see Mary as she used to be; full of hope, passion and love for Ed.

SAM (played by Anthony Boyle)

Ed and Mary’s 15-year-old son who has a psychotic  disorder.  He has problems controlling his emotional outbursts.  He is often angry and easily upset, lashing out at the world and the people around him.  He tries his best, but struggles with everyday life and finds it hard to be close to his parents. He might be difficult, but for Ed and Mary he is impossible not to love.

 

WAITRESS (played by Hayley Squire)

A friendly waitress at Macon Heights who serves Ed and goes out of her way to make people feel welcome; even serving home-made cake for free. But her exterior masks a devastating secret. She came to Macon Heights to have her pain taken away, and for a while it worked, but helping Ed understand this mysterious place forces her to open up about her traumatic past and relive the pain all over again.

 

BOB PAINE (played by Rudi Dharmalingam)

Bob is Ed’s colleague at Luton station. Warm, funny, chatty, a bit brash and a bit of a know-it-all.  A contrast to the more introverted Ed.  If it wasn’t for the fact they work together, they probably wouldn’t be friends, but Bob is an unlikely confidant for Ed.   Bob would like to visit this mysterious town himself, but sadly it does not appear for him.