Damian Cruden's superb production of "The Railway Children" – featuring a real steam train – premiered in York in 2008, then thrilled audiences in London and Toronto too, said Patrick Kidd in The Times.
This joyous revival, which forms part of Bradford's year as UK City of Culture, takes the novelty a step further, by including the actual railway used in the much-loved 1970 film adaptation of E. Nesbit's book. Audiences board a steam train at Keighley, for a half-hour trip along the lovingly preserved Keighley & Worth Valley line. This takes them through Oakworth, which served as the film's main location, and on to Oxenhope, where the "immersive" drama plays out in a reconfigured engine shed. The spectacular train ride conjures up a "nostalgic and benevolent mood", but it is "only the beginning of a magical performance" centred on the 100-tonne locomotive, built in 1887, that was used in the film.
"This is a glorious piece of storytelling, spirited, sentimental and spectacular," said Ron Simpson on What's on Stage. Mike Kenny's adaptation is "masterly", and Cruden's deployment of his large cast, often as passengers and anonymous bystanders, is "magnificent". The actors playing the children – Roberta, Peter and Phyllis – are individually excellent and "operate perfectly as a trio", but everyone, from housemaids up, makes their mark. And the whole thing is beautifully stitched together, from Joanna Scotcher's set and costume designs to Christopher Madin's evocative music. It's a glorious production and a "wholesome triumph", said The Times in an editorial. "Toot! Toot!"
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The design is "stupendous" and the drama "deftly executed", said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. But I found the storytelling a bit tame initially, and the emotional temperature somewhat tepid. In what could have been an interesting twist, this production makes the siblings Anglo-Indian – but sadly this change feels "cosmetic", not really thought through. Thankfully, after the interval, the drama gets "back on track", with more humour and narrative verve. By the close, with Father's emotional return, the production "has become irresistible".
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