The Railway Children

~~Set in and around a country railway station at the turn of the twentieth century (1900 - 1910), this traditional play tells the plight of the railway children grappling with their new environment and new considerably straightened circumstances.  In this adaptation, by Mike Kenny, the story is told in a semi-narrated fashion mainly by the three children, Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis and is is imaginatively brought to life for a modern audience while losing nothing of the original spirit of adventure and the final triumph of good over evil. 

The set was, as always, excellent; it looked appropriate and put the audience in exactly the right setting - a country station at the turn of the century.  I must mention however, the ‘actual train’ which was quite simply a triumph!  It really looked like the green-and-gold, 66-ton Stirling Single locomotive in represented, and with (what looked like) real steam, coming out of the funnel.  It was probably about half the size of the ‘real thing’ but on the stage it looked huge and simply magnificent. Perks, the Station Master actually rode an authentic looking delivery bicycle, complete with basket, across the auditorium.

Props and costumes were all excellent and really helped to set the time, they all looked clean and beautifully pressed. 

Generally, the members of the cast moved the necessary furniture on and off stage, meaning that there was no down time and the play moved almost seamlessly from one scene to the next.

The acting was very good.  The nature of the play demanded that characters and relationships had to be established in very short bursts.  I was very impressed with the chemistry between Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis – so much so that I checked the programme as I thought they must be related because they displayed such easy and believable sibling chemistry.  But No – just excellent acting. Across the whole cast there were some simply wonderful facial expressions and believable characters.

In conclusion, this was a well-acted piece, which really demonstrated the importance of caring and being cared for out through all the problems and hurdles of life as the family refuse to let sudden poverty diminish their social conscience.  My very warmest congratulations to everyone connected in any way with this gentle classic story.  Very well done, thank you, and I wish you all every success in future productions.

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