The Railway Children

This most loved story written by E Nesbitt and adapted by Mike Kenny was a popular choice and well supported by good audiences at the Manifest Theatre.

A minamalistic set served for all the actions from the living room of the Waterbury family, to the railway bridge,the railway station, and the Perks front door,

It did take some time to switch from scene to scene, but with some clever instructions from the cast it worked so well.

The early transistion of the adults morphing into themselves as children was believable, and mainly due to the enthusiasm and acting of the three, Bobbie, Phyliss and Peter, played by Rhiannion Arnold, Ashley Adams and Paul Reed.

All three were excellent in their respective roles and with Jenni Horn as their Mother it was a tight knit family, which set the standard high for the production.

Perks played by Alan Wheeler gave a strong character, but with a softer side when befriended by the Waterbury childen and their mother. His rather harrassed wife played by Roz Pettett was lovely in this character, and the delightful children Celtic Meredith and Dulcie and Albert Roberts added so much with their presence on stage,

All the supporting cast members in mainly smaller roles Lester Pearse as the Doctor, Mike Brown as the Old Gentleman, Mike Johansen as Mr Szezcpansky and John Roberts as the Father, were very important in the story line as were the entire cast. It was good to see how it all gelled together in full cast scenes

I found the costumes really good, and the cast all looked so right in them. Well done to the Costume Department and to make up and hair as well.

The whole evening was a pleasure to watch with a fresh feel to the production from this company. Not a dry eye at the final scene when Bobbie was re united with her beloved Father. Very moving!

The lighting was very good and the effect of the dry ice just right, and at the right places.

With this cast of some younger people I can see great promise if further shows are chosen to encourage them to stay, as there was a lot of talent with these young people.

Another excellent production with Caroline as Director from this talented group.

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