The Railway Children

This was my first visit to see this particular group and I’m glad I’ll be going back there again in the future. The co-directors, Sue Clarke and Lisa Turpcu created an entirely believable story with their cast. It was a large cast for a play, with 18 characters and age ranges of 10 to 60+ and we cared about each one of them.

We walked in to an open stage with clearly defined areas to show the station and the house, with a thrust in between that was used effectively.

There were careful characterisations from everyone with warmth between the family members, sibling rivalry, concern shown by the older characters but also a feeling of optimism.

Roberta, played with maturity by only just 15 years old Honey Askew, was a deep thinker, growing into young adulthood. Honey has a very expressive face and we could share her inner thoughts and worries.

Korai Masters, as Peter, wanted to be the man of the house in Father’s absence but kept a sense of curiosity and adventure with his comic timing. Clara Vella was delightful as Phyllis, torn between wanting to do the right thing and being afraid of change. Their mother, Jane Browne, shared her anxieties with us but still managed to be loving and warm.

The character of Perks was half station master/ husband and half narrator and Mark Edwards played both aspects with kindness and humour. Lorna Catt brought a gentle touch to Mrs Perks and their relationship worked well. The Old Gentleman, Jem Deans, had great stage presence and Alison Falconer was calm and steady as Dr Forrest. The three Perks daughters, Imogen Vandyk, Jemima Vandyk and Audrey Clements all had good physical comedy and Sebastian Webb portrayed John as wanting to be one of the adults but still happy to annoy his sisters.

All of the smaller roles were believable and confident and some had to manage Russian or French accents. I would have liked more Yorkshire vowel sounds but that’s probably because I’m a Yorkshire lass myself!

The two halves of the stage worked well, but th house could have been a little bit wider which would have made things easier for the family. The floor became the garden and the entrances and steps were used cleverly. No scene changes were needed which meant the stage could be thoughtfully dressed with period props and furniture.

I liked the way the costumes defined class and status and attention was paid to appropriate accessories. It seemed that only Phyllis had any changes to her costume which was a shame, it would have helped the passage of time if Roberta, Mother and Peter had something too. Whilst correct for the time, some of the larger hats created shadowed faces under the overhead lighting.

The subtle changes of the lighting were clever and I liked the sunlight through the sitting room window. The sounds and smoke evoked a long gone era of steam trains, and we even heard a brass band at the award ceremony.

Lastly, the screen projections added so much, well done Jem Deans and team. We were at the steamy station or in an English country garden and the landslide was particularly effective.

This was an enjoyable, clever and moving performance. We were warmly welcomed and my guest and I had a delightful afternoon, thank you Much Hadham Drama Group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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