As well as working at J&PR I also work at a college teaching journalism, so the school holidays are always a chance for me to catch up with clients I haven’t seen in a while or get ahead on some of my accounts. I often forget it’s also a chance for a holiday – but this Easter I thought I’d try having an afternoon off to go to the theatre!
I remember reading The Railway Children when I was younger and I’m always a fan of seeing stage adaptations – especially of classic novels. But I’ve never seen a screening in a theatre – surely that’s what the cinema is for?
I’ve heard of so many now-a-days, the ballet, big concerts, popular London shows being brought to small corners of Shropshire…. so I thought I’d see if it’s really worth it. I’ll be seeing the screening of The Railway Children (2016), a film of York Theatre Royal’s Olivier award-winning production performed in summer 2015 at the National Railway Museum, Yorkshire. It’s on Wednesday 6th April at Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn.
In this stage version Mike Kenny and Damian Cruden host an imaginative adaptation of E. Nesbit’s cherished novel – and it features the original locomotive from the much-loved original 1970 film.
For those who need a refresh of memory – The Railway Children follows the story of Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis, three sheltered siblings who suffer a huge upheaval when their father, who works for the Foreign Office, is taken away from their London home and (falsely) imprisoned. The children and their mother, now penniless, are forced to move from London to rural Yorkshire near a railway line. The story deals with themes of justice, the importance of family and the kindness of strangers.
So the film version of the stage adaptation (it get’s confusing!) I will see was filmed with seven cameras by an expert team. It is produced by Anne Beresford and Debbie Gray (Genesius Pictures), who have been involved in productions of Hamlet and Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach, both shown in UK cinemas and on British television.
We’ll see if watching a screen at the theatre really is like the real thing!
If you’re interested you can get tickets here and see the trailer here.
