Theatre News

Railway Children Chugs Back to Waterloo, 28 Jun

York Theatre Royal’s Whatsonstage.com Award-winning staging of The Railway Children will return to Waterloo Station for a summer run from 28 June (previews from 18 June) to 4 September 2011.

Staged in the former Eurostar terminal, the production finished an extended run on 2 January this year, having opened on 12 July 2010 (previews from 4 July). The show boasts a set featuring the old Gentleman’s saloon carriage from the 1970 film version and a period steam train – the ‘Stirling Single’ – from the National Railway Museum, where the production was first seen in 2008.

The epic site-specific production, which earned Joanna Scotcher the 2011 Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Set Designer, was also nominated in the Theatre Event of the Year category. The show is now up for two Olivier Awards, Best Entertainment and Best Sound Design.

A 1000-seat auditorium – the Waterloo Station Theatre – has been specially constructed in the old Eurostar Terminal with the audience seated either side of the original railway track – the action taking place both on the track and on the platforms either side.

The Railway Children tells the story of Bobby, Peter and Phyllis, three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away. They move from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother where they befriend the local railway porter and embark on a magical journey of discovery, friendship and adventure.

The show will also travel to North America, opening at the Roundhouse Theatre in Toronto on 3 May 2011 with further productions planned for New York, San Francisco, Melbourne and Sydney.

Adapted by Mike Kenny from E Nesbit’s classic 1906 novel, it’s directed by York Theatre Royal artistic director Damian Cruden, with lighting by Richard G Jones, music by Christopher Madin and sound by Craig Vear.

The Railway Children, a York Theatre Royal production, is presented in London in association with the National Rail Museum by Jenny King and Matthew Gale for The Touring Consortium (Railway Children), Tristan Baker, Oliver Royds, PW Productions and Sue Scott Davison. The production has been made possible with the support of BRB (Residuary) Ltd and Network Rail.