The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal at the National Railway Museum (From The Northern Echo)

The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal at the National Railway Museum

10:44am Thursday 24th July 2008 in

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EVEN without the steam train, this new adaptation of E Nesbit’s book would be a quite wonderful theatrical experience.

Mike Kenny’s script about a family – mother and three children – forced to leave a privileged life in London for a simple existence in a cottage in Yorkshire is intelligent and compassionate.

It may be classed as children’s fiction, but this adaptation, while having plenty to appeal to youngsters, has enough emotional depth and spectacle to satisfy older members of the audience.

The coup de theatre of having a real live steam locomotive chuffing into the specially-constructed theatre space at the National Rail Museum not once, but twice, is magnificent.

It turns the production into an event, anticipation stoked by Joanna Scotcher’s brilliant setting which turns the theatre into a railway station with the audience seated on the platforms on either side of the tracks.

The train plays such a vital role in the story that its inclusion is more than a gimmick. It gives real punch to the ending, as a loved one emerges from the smoke on the platform, will bring a tear to the eye of even the most hardened viewer.

Damian Cruden’s excellent staging runs more smoothly than any rail timetable, full of detail (from Christopher Madin’s score to the ticking clock in the living room) and delightful performances.

Having the three children as young adults telling of their adventures neatly gets over any problem that casting “older” actors might bring. The idea of having them talk to the audience works brilliantly.

Sarah Quintrell’s heartfelt Bobby, Jonathan Race’s Peter and Frances Marshall’s Phyllis capture the uncertainty of youth perfectly as Andrina Carroll’s determined mother is left to cope alone when her husband (Robert Angell) is imprisoned for spying.

Marshall Lancaster’s kindly station porter, Mr Perks, strikes an instant rapport with both railway children and audience, just as Colin Tarrant’s Old Gent takes the family’s interests to heart.

It’s 11 years since Cruden first had the idea of staging The Railway Children at the NRM with a real locomotive. It has been well worth the wait.

■ Until August 23. Tickets 01904-623568 or online at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk