18 Dec 2024
Deborah Heath has her ticket at the ready for the children’s classic at the Abbey Theatre.
The annual Company of Ten Christmas show is an ideal seasonal treat for all theatre lovers but especially families. You can be sure of a heart-warming classic children’s tale which is relevant to every age group. This adaptation of E. Nesbitt’s ‘The Railway Children’ by Mike Kenny may have only been performed last summer by OVO but please do not let this stop you getting a ticket – it is a story perfectly suited to Christmas time so assemble your nearest and dearest, snuggle up and enjoy the ride.
I love Mike Kenny’s adaptation which is a retrospective tale giving an efficient knack of telling the story from the children’s point of view. For instance, a long speech by a railway official is narrated as “boring, boring, boring”. It also shows not only what happened to the children at a given time but how they have reflected on their actions. “I don’t like this bit coming up…”
Mike Kenny is very clear that there should not be an actual train but that the action of the play must be believable enough for the audience to use their imagination to fill in the gaps. This is where Company of Ten teamwork shines under the overall vision of director Maureen Bukht. The actors were secure in their roles, Chris Deal’s lighting and Sim Hill’s sound worked together sublimely, and with well researched props from Nicki Marriott’s and costume from Gill Stratford we had the complete package. For the audience to believe that a train was passing through was easy – well done all!
I can always rely on Company of Ten for a beautifully designed and made set. The giant doll’s house for scene one was very well executed. It did have the knock-on effect of concentrating the action for that scene into a shallow portion of stage, but this was only for a short period, after which the splendour of the Beccy Baird’s main set was revealed behind.
This boasted a realistic railway platform on one side, the family house on the other and a tunnel and bridge centre stage. I do not want to ruin the surprise of the railway carriage except to say that I applaud the inventiveness!
It is always a pleasure to see Company of Ten showcase young talent. There are two child-actor teams on rotation for this production and I saw Blue Team who all demonstrated some great character realisations. Scarlett Molvik gave us a strong and sensitive Bobbie, Kitty Baird’s humorous touch made us immediately fond of Phyllis and Finlay Murphy showed how Peter is assertive and yet insecure. Ryan Barnes who had less stage time as Jim still managed to pack a punch.
A shout-out too to the Perks Children Elliot Brubaker, Jake and Emily Wyeth and Poppy Tidy who were on stage frequently and never dropped character despite only having a little to say. Mastering a role is not just about what you say – it’s about acting in role all the time. Well done to the whole young cast and keep it up!
The children were supported by a group of experience Company of Ten adults.
Sarah Hudson led the way as mother with her assured stage presence and beautifully silky voice, Ben Fricke nailed the warm heartedness of Perks and David Barryman was the perfect Old Gentleman. The rest of the cast were marvellous too and I’m sure will understand that with limited space I need to prioritise naming the children here.
This is a lovely show boasting some lovely acting, great design realisation and a universal appealing story. Bravo to director Maureen Bukht and the whole team. I heartily recommend booking tickets to make your Christmas period complete and can’t wait to see what Company of Ten give us next Christmas.
