Wow. As someone who went into this show not having seen the film or read the book (I read a book called A Girl on A Train, which I didn’t realise until weeks later was not the bestselling novel by Paula Hawkins that everyone else had read), I had no idea what to expect, and I left the theatre feeling utterly blown away!
Directed by Clare Littlemore, the show follows Rachel Watson, a well-meaning woman with an alcohol problem (side note: I felt a little uncomfortable at some of the audience’s reactions to Rachel’s drinking. It’s clear that she has an issue with drinking, but there was a lot of laughing in the audience which felt a bit misplaced. Occasionally it felt as though lines were delivered deliberately to evoke a laugh, but other times it was clear that this was not the time, so the laughs felt a little inappropriate.). Rachel becomes entangled in a missing persons case, due to her own curiosity and things take a dark turn.
Rachel was played well by Clare Grimes. As a complex character who is rarely off stage, it is such a challenging role to play, but Clare brought a great depth. Her “nice guy” ex-husband Tom was played by Jake Liken who did a brilliant job of conveying warmth but with plenty of light and shade as required.
Scott Hipwell, the husband of the woman who went missing, played by Matt Corrigan who was a real standout actor for me, genuinely terrifying me at times, and I could have watched the charismatic Bryan Higgins as Detective Gaskill all night – there was something about him that was just so natural and captivating.
Kudos to Megan Hipwell (Jo Lee), mainly appearing through flashback scenes, who made me well up during a particularly heart-wrenching monologue. The brilliantly bearded Phil Dean as the therapist Karl Anderson, was giving Freud vibes, and Maria Ames was very much believable as Anna Watson.
Generally, the acting was fantastic – almost too believable at times, which made for some (wonderfully) uncomfortable viewing. There were a few accent slips and stuttered lines, but for an amateur production, the level of talent is exceptional.
Ultimately, the staging, the movement, the direction, was all utterly gripping, making a captivating watch. I have to shout out the sound designers (Jacob Grimes, Marc and Dan Littlemore) as the music and sound were a huge part of this production. From the haunting magpie song at the start, to the (frankly amazing) soundtrack of Rachel’s nights of drinking, that were mixed so cleverly and effectively, that I had to call it out. That’s how you do sound in a production like this.
This company have put together an exceptional rendition of this complex story and I look forward to what they put on next.
The Girl on the Train runs until 14th September 2024 at the Brindley Theatre in Runcorn.
Reviewer: Codie Wright
Reviewed: 12th September 2024
North West End UK Rating: