The Railway Children at the Waterside Theatre Aylesbury Review

Reviewed by Sharon Mongey

I had the pleasure of going to see The Railway Children last night (1 November 2017) at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.

The Railway Children is a well know book and film of old. Having originally begun its journey at King’s Cross Theatre, it is now travelling. The adaptation of E. Nesbit’s is cleverly brought to life on stage.

It tells the story of Phyllis (Phil), Peter and Roberta (Bobby) along with Mother, who have to leave their life in London and embark on a new adventure travelling to Three Chimneys Cottage in the Yorkshire countryside after father is taken away (‘he works for the government, you know’).

Here they settle into their new life style and surroundings. This is very different from the city lifestyle that they are used too. The story centres around the railway line that the children spot at the bottom of the garden on morning after they arrive, immediately going to investigate. It’s here we meet Perks, the Station Master and his son John, (Perks narrates the play too, switching roles with ease).

Without giving too much of the storyline away, the children continue to visit the station daily, waving at the ‘old gentleman’ in the carriage at the end of the train and giving help to needy individuals, an extremely caring family, who are surviving on very little of their own. The steam train is cleverly brought to life on stage, in a variety of ways.

The Railway Children is a heart-warming story, filled with laughter, (I have to say I was surprised at how funny it was) easily my favourite scene of the show has to be the birthday party, look out for the slow-motion part, the gasps from the children in the audience at the end of the show was lovely to hear as they had obviously not guessed what was going to happen.

We had a slight technical issue with interference of the sound at the start of the performance, but this did not last for long and unusually for Aylesbury Theatre, I found the auditorium a little chilly tonight, but as always, staff and facilities at the theatre were fantastic, it still remains one of my favourite theatres to visit.

A special mention has to be given to Katherine Carlton who gave sterling performance tonight as Phyllis who remained animated throughout really captivating the audience.

I would recommend this show.

Rating: 3.5/5

Tickets cost from £12.25 to £28.75 (plus £2.85 transaction fee).

The Railway Children is at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury from 1-5 November 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit www.atgtickets.com/aylesbury or call the box office on 0844 871 7607.

Waterside Theatre, Exchange Street, Aylesbury, Bucks, HP20 1UG | 0844 871 7607