Review - The Railway Children - People's Theatre

The Railway Children 

People's Theatre

16th July 2024

The People's Theatre are ending their season with an adaptation of a much loved children's classic - E Nesbit's The Railway Children. It's one of those beloved books, written for children but actually mostly much loved by adults.

 

It's a gentle tale about a family learning to live with changed circumstance, their once affluent lifestyle turned on it's head when the children's father is sent to prison for spying, and they lose everything. Forced to move from London to the Yorkshire countryside, the children have to learn a new way of life, no servants, scrimping and saving to pay bills, and making their own entertainment. For the children this comes from the railway - they spend hours watching the trains and waving in the hope that they will carry their love to their father, far away in London. 

Mike Kenny's adaptation tells the story through the children's eyes - they address the audience introducing themselves as they begin to unroll their story and we are given the child's eye view of events - not the full picture, because their mother protects them from the world - while all around them we, the audience, see what is really happening. It's a clever layering of the events, giving both the adult point of view and the children's. It's a charming and nostalgic coming of age story. Though it deals with some tough themes -  injustice and politics, social class and poverty - it does so in a very gentle way. It is not the hard hitting coming of age experience most modern teens would recognise. The Waterbury children have the advantage of enlightened parents, and despite their straightened circumstance they are still much better off than the other families in their new home. Thought the themes could be argued to be relevant to today, this is very much a tale from a different era, when society and attitudes were very different.  It is, nevertheless a heartwarming story and is a worthy choice for the season finale. 

The set designers have created a sense of place, with the railway bridge dominating centre stage and various props denoting the different scenes - from the affluent London home with it's fine furniture to the quaint Three Chimneys with its simple kitchen table and stove; a pile of coal and packing cases under the bridge, billowing smoke and steam, recreate the station while off to the right is the Perk's cottage and Mr Perk's "office". 

The sound crew consolidate the scenery with the sounds of the trains, the steam, the whistles and the screech of brakes, and the rumble of a landslide. If you close your eyes you could believe that a train was pulling into the station, or flying by at speed. 

In addition, the costumes are spot on - from the girl's pinafores to Mrs Waterbury's tailored dress, they are stitch perfect. 

This is a pleasing production bringing a well known tale to the stage. Ashton Matthews, Joe Moore and Stephanie Moore capture the characters of the three siblings, with their bickering and their naiviety, while Kay Edmundson shines as the archetypal strong mother, holding her family together against the odds. Tony Childs is perfectly cast as the kindly Old Gentleman. They are all ably supported by the rest of the cast - providing an array of friendly characters to help Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis navigate their way through the many new situations they find themselves in. 

The Railway Children is showing until Sat 20th July. Take a trip back in time and Buy a ticket and take a nostalgic trip back to a gentler time!  Tickets can be booked online at www.peoplestheatre.co.uk 

*photo credit Paul Hood 

Denise Sparrowhawk