The Railway Children

This much loved story was written by Edith Nesbit and adapted for stage by Mike Kenny and opened in 2008 at the National Railway Museum in York. You couldn’t get a much better setting than that!  Getting the right atmosphere for a play is so essential. This set was well designed to pick up on all the elements of the station complete with bridge and tunnel, with the additional scenes set on the front apron and  just a few props to ensure quick and efficient scene changes. But more about the set later…

The three children were amazing with not one prompt and so many lines to learn; they were hardly ever off the stage. However in due respect, I really shouldn’t be calling them children as they have all either studied or completed their A-levels but they captured the essence of these children very well.  Chloe Mortonson  brought out the  character of this sometimes naughty and funny child Phyllis charmingly. She was the youngest of the family. Next came Peter (Samuel Earthroll) who brought an energy and cheeky excitement to his role. Nothing less than we expected having been entertained by him before. The eldest of the three was Bobbie, played by the talented  Sheree Driver. She was the level headed  sibling with the responsibility of looking after the two younger ones especially when her mother wasn’t well and she played the role with a maturity.  Jane Hines was their mother and showed a warmth and compassion throughout with the worry of trying the raise the family, make ends meet, and  protecting them from the truth of what had really happened to their father.

Neville Woolnough was The Old Gentleman, an ideal cameo for him in which he excelled, played with a sartorial elegance and looking very dapper with his grey morning suit and spats. Finally Simon Hoyle as Mr Perks, the Station Master ensuring all the passeners were safely aboard the train. The supporting cast were also very believable characters, working well with the leads and all the other numerous village children, who added to the atmosphere with their excitement as they boarded the train and madly waved their flags. They were all delightful.   Honorable mention must go the Oliver Fosker for not only directing this large cast but also playing The Father and Mr Szezcpansky.

 I have already mentioned the set but the whole audience were totally amazed at the end of the first half and again at the end of the play when on rolled an incredible, virtually full sized steam train. This had taken hours and hours to complete and had been lovingly created  by David Wright, along with help from Oliver Fosker and Mike Hart. They told me the final coats of paint  had only just been completed a few hours before curtain up.  It rolled into the station with only inches to spare. I was even privileged to be able to have a closer look at the end of the show and to meet David and hear all about it’s construction. It was absolutely brilliant! 

All the costumes looked very authentic and fitted well this large cast of 26. From the youngest to the eldest, they all injected fun and happiness into this production and it was evident to the audience that this had been a very happy show to be a part of.

Well done to Oliver and all his cast and numerous production team. Thank you also to Vernon and the Fosker family for looking after us, as they always do, so well.

Catherine Dixey. NODA East Representative District E12 

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