***** (5 stars)
“A marvel of such miracles”
What better way to start a railway adventure than by eating steak and kidney pudding in the Old Parcels Office at Keighley Station and then riding in a carriage pulled by a heavily chuffing steam locomotive up the short but at times pretty steep incline and past the iconic Oakworth station to Oxenhope station (660 feet above sea level, it says) where the performance takes place in the engine shed?
Before the performance begins, there’s plenty of time to investigate the delights available in the area surrounding the station courtyard: a mouth-watering choice of hot pies, snacks, sweets and other treats, Railway Children souvenirs, and drinks of all kinds: I succumbed to the lure of Thunder and Lightning ice cream, and was not disappointed…
And then it was time to enter the Engine Shed – which I last visited towards the end of last year to see the KWVR’s incredible production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol which began and ended in this shed, but moved to a [moving] steam-hauled train for the intervening scenes. At that time we were surrounded by locomotives: now we entered a blacks-hung area in which tiers of seating faced each other across a section of railway track. At one end there was a typical railway bridge and hint of a signal box: at the other the corner of a stationmaster’s house, beside a black tunnel leading who knows where…
Bridging the track/gap between the rows of seating at one point was an area of wooden planking on which sat some black trunks. This simple grouping was our first view of the absolutely marvellous set design – in essence extremely simple but capable of extreme versatility thanks to four superbly agile blue-clad ‘railway workers’ – uncredited, but fully deserving their huge applause at the final curtain.
It wasn’t immediately obvious that this small area of planking was on a trolley on wheels which could be moved up and down the rail tracks which lay between our two tiers of seating. The flexibility and versatility of scenes and props this enabled was a stroke of design genius: not only scenery but cast members could swiftly be moved in and out of our view, and new scenes set up out of sight and magically brought into view when required. Fabulous [especially the landslide]!
The whole show was a marvel of such miracles, and brought smiles to all the faces intently watching and engrossed in the action playing out in front of them. The lighting is superb, and the sound effects and music fit quite wonderfully into the drama, heightening the emotion where appropriate, but never, ever, going over the top or playing for cheap effect. Altogether, it’s an outstanding production – a wonderful collaboration between playwright Mike Kenny and director Damian Cruden.
The story is fairly simple. Three ordinary children – Roberta [Bobby], Peter and Phyllis – lived with their mother and father in an ordinary house with ordinary but not always nice servants and an ordinaryish mother and father. Mother stayed at home, and father went out to work and “did something”, working for the government “to keep you all safe”: it was all very nice and, by repetition, ordinary.
Peter’s birthday, however, was far from ordinary. Cake with candles had been brought [and blown out] when the doorbell rang. Mysterious fragments of conversation, half-heard, ensued, and father came back to say “I’ve been called away … on business”. Life becomes increasingly far from ordinary. The servants leave one by one, and suddenly mother and the children pack up, leave their house, and set off for Yorkshire. All the children are told, in essence, is that “it’s not necessary for you to know anything about anything” – all they know is that mother is very unhappy and that it’s best to avoid asking any questions or talking about anything that adds to that unhappiness.
The children find life hard at first – anything they say is met with “you’re not from round here, are you?” and they become painfully aware that they are very poor – but slowly they make friends, especially with Oakworth stationmaster Perks and, when mother falls ill, with the doctor. Their one solace is visiting the nearby railway every day, and waving to the Black Dragon, the 9.15 London train which takes their love to father.
The Old Gentleman on the train, a persecuted Russian author trying to find his wife and children, a coal-mining expedition which could have ended in disaster, a wounded [human] hound and an averted railway disaster weave their way through this narrative of adjusting to new surroundings and attendant hardships, finding friendship and help in unexpected places, and the strength of family [even when they drive you mad].
The narrative is framed by the three children, now grown up, who look back and play out the scenes from their memories – as with all families, disagreeing about the details! It’s only in the final scene that we see Bobby, Peter and Phyllis at the ages they were at the time of their Railway Adventure, which allows a more intense dramatic experience than if the three were their ‘actual’ age.
The whole cast is superb. Even before the show officially begins, we are invited to engage with the actors, being waved at and waving as they walk along the edges of the ‘platforms’ in front of our seats. By the time the action begins we have become part of it rather than detached spectators waiting to be entertained: when we finally get to play a part, the whole audience acts as one, joyfully.
All the cast, from youngest to oldest, were superb – a fantastic team effort that was still completely fresh despite having been on show at least once a day, and often twice, from the end of July. The minor parts were all beautifully presented, with much doubling up of ‘crowd’, ‘villagers’, travellers and other such parts, and a lively ‘hare’ and ‘hounds’. I was particularly taken with the performances of the ‘grown up’ Bobby, Peter, and Phyllis – Farah Ashraf, Raj Digva and Jessica Kaur: but everyone was excellent!
The show had so many marvellous moments I could be here for hours telling you about them, but I’ll try to be brief. One of the most magical was the way we entered the tunnel to find out what had become of the injured hound in the local boys’ school’s ‘hare and hounds’ race – another stroke of complete genius, very simple and supremely effective. Others: the “very long and boring” speech made by an unnamed official at the presentation ceremony after the averted disaster; the magic tricks and unexpected behaviour of the Russian emigré; Perks’ transformation from outraged repudiator of what he sees as charity to generous acceptor of birthday gifts from well-wishers; the wonderful music that built up to and accompanied some dramatic moments and the lovely song to celebrate Bobby’s birthday; and many, many more.
But the crowning moment for me, the real tears-in-the-eyes one for a lifetime lover of steam locomotives, is the first appearance in front of us of locomotive 52044, who glides towards the three children who are furiously waving red flannel petticoats, trying to stop the train from crashing into the landslide which has covered the tracks…
I was only able to see this show on the antepenultimate night – the run ends on Sunday: had I the time, I would rush to see it again immediately. As it is, I’ll have to wait and hope that this incredibly and deservedly popular show makes its way back to the KWVR next summer. Fingers crossed!
The Railway Children, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, Runs until Sunday 7th September for more information go to: https://kwvr.co.uk/railway-children/
ScotsGay Arts 