Synopsis
Set entirely in the house owned by Brigadier Sir Gordon Brizeley-Lemington DSO (Ret'd), a large old house with a grand stairway, the show starts in the late summer of 1939 when the storm clouds of war are gathering.
The story opens with an engagement party for the brigadier's daughter, Silver, and Jack, a young artist commissioned by the brigadier to paint Silver's portrait. Although concerned about Jack's ability to support his daughter, the brigadier can refuse her nothing. Silver's father and step-mother (Poppy) set the scene with "Let me tell you how it started". As the guests disperse, we meet Vera Jones, girlfriend of Silver's brother Frank, and the talk gets around to Silver's belief in ghosts. When they're alone together, Silver and Jack re-affirm their love for each other with "You are my hope".
In the middle of the night after the party, the brigadier is fumbling around trying to mend a fuse. He reminisces about the old days before he retired and laments his lack of usefulness in civilian life with "A Brigadier Retired". Mrs Grimshaw, the grumpy doom-mongering housekeeper is also awake, suffering from indigestion. Poppy gently cajoles the pair of them and keeps the peace.
The next day, the talk is of war, and what it means to the younger generation. A poignant picture of the partings caused by war is painted with the a cappella song "Waving Goodbye", and as the strains of this fade out we hear Chamberlain's speech on the wireless, ending with ". this country is at war with Germany". Suddenly the house is galvanised into life, as the furniture is moved out and replaced by iron beds and the home is converted into a hospital, to the backing of "This is war". Jack and the men go off to war and Silver enrols as a nurse.
In the next scenes we see hospital life unfold. Silver and her friend Lucy are now nurses and Poppy has become the hospital administrator, the brigadier having been found a job at the War Office. We meet Joe, a cheeky young recovering soldier, and also the effervescent local postman, Cedric Perkins, whose interest in the hospital is more than just in delivering letters . he has his heart set on Mrs Grimshaw, as we find out in the light "Cedric's Courtship" song. Joe, a cheeky young patient, well on the road to recovery, is flirting with the nurses. Mrs Grimshaw is wielding a mop and bucket on the ward and suffering far more than the patients.
Silver hasn't had a letter from Jack for a while, and overworked and worried, her health is suffering. When Poppy shows concern, Silver tells her about a dream in which her (long dead) mother visits her. The dream is enacted with Silver and Frank as children in "Scary Stories". Silver is sure that her mother is trying to get a message to her. Her health is suffering as she sings the dramatic "I will go on".
Vera visits the hospital, introducing herself in her inimitable fashion with "Vera Jones". In contrast to the nurses, she is having a great time, working as an usherette at the local cinema and doing her best to keep up the morale of the local men. She sees Joe as a new object for her attentions, flirting with him in "What would they do without us women", after which she leads Joe off.
The younger generation moan about the hardships of war, and are remonstrated by Poppy in "Poppy's Lament", then one day a telegram arrives from the War Office saying that Jack is missing, presumed killed. Silver, already ill, collapses, distraught with grief as she sings the hauntingly beautiful "How can I tell you". Lucy finds her and calls for the doctor and Poppy, but their attempts to resuscitate her fail and as the first act comes to a close, we see Silver joining the spirits. She is bathed in light as her mother greets her.
After the interval, we are back in the hospital a few weeks later. Mrs Grimshaw, having discovered a medical dictionary, regales us with a list of her current ailments in "All I've Got". Lucy arrives for duty one evening to find a new patient has arrived. He's in a bad way and isn't really expected to last the night. She is stunned when she realises that it's Jack. Vera and Joe, who have been out dancing, arrive in a merry mood, and Vera and Lucy end up having a blazing row, with Lucy rushing from the ward in tears. Vera puts her mood down to not having a man, and then, realising that she herself could use up any spare men, performs "Give Me Men". After Vera has left, the ward is quiet and empty and Jack begins to stir. A blue light is seen and the ghost of Silver appears at the top of the stairs. She tends to Jack.
Next day there's excitement on the ward as the news that Jack is not only still alive, but making a recovery, spreads. Cedric, still ignoring rebuffs from Mrs Grimshaw, brings her some of his Aunty Ivy's tonic wine. Well, she's not having any of that, of course. Poppy is pleased to see that Jack is recovering but concerned that he is rambling about being nursed by Silver. Later, Poppy finds the wine where Cedric left it, and persuades Mrs Grimshaw that one glass can't do any harm. With Mrs Grimshaw getting increasingly affected by the wine, they sing "Poppy's Lament" and "All I've Got" together. In the middle of the night, to the snoring accompaniment of Mrs Grimshaw, Silver once again visits Jack and the big number of the second act "Hold the moment" begins. It's about the love they've had for each other, and keeping that love alive no matter what happens.
The next day, there's change in the air. The Brigadier, who has been at the war office, returns to organise the local home guard, Jack appears to have made an amazing recovery, and Mrs Grimshaw is looking very positive. Offering to make cups of tea she is interrupted by Cedric's arrival. He proposes in a reprise of "Cedric's Courtship", a little more successful than his previous attempt!
Later that evening, a fire breaks out in the hospital, and the patients are evacuated. Jack, however, is sure that Silver is in the house somewhere and attempts to rescue her. He is overcome by smoke, and the spirits deliver him to Silver, so that they are reunited as the music crescendos to a reprise of "You are my hope".
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