New Live Theatre, Manchester Hub Drama and No Egos Theatre Productions brings the premiere of SARAH to the Lowry for 2020, following their sold-out production of ‘The Betting Shop’ in 2019. ‘SARAH’ is a brand-new play by Writer and Director Stevie Helps, of the critically acclaimed play, ‘Rachel’.

The play highlights the importance of not only talking to one another and making time for those you love, but actively hearing them too. One character expresses the sentiment in Act 3 – that it’s such a loss to wait until you are dying to explain your previous actions to people you love.

There are many secrets to unearth and unfold in this production, mostly borne out of the inability to share worries, anxiety and anxieties, flaws and traits. The play reflects on how easy it is to seamlessly become the victim, to even find a life behind bars preferable to a domestic prison where never ending physical and emotional abuse becomes the norm.

Writer/Producer/Director Helps is known to overlay a multitude of genres and technical styles, from naturalism to comedy to physical theatre to melodrama and even satire to push theatrical boundaries. This production is certainly boundary blurring, and while we learn why the male characters behave as they do, the female characters are the ones to suffer and seek excuses for their abuser’s actions. With strong portrayals from all the cast, the live singer, Kat Rawling, deserves special credit and links the plot exceptionally well as, certainly, in Act 3 when the plot takes an unexpected turn into a form of ‘who done it?’

Helps’ writing often has serious underlying dark tones. His production offers both commercial and artistic threads woven into stylistic experiments intended to introduce theatre to a wider audience. It seems to have worked because this was a sell-out production, however perhaps with so many layers in this production, certain of the more abstract threads might be lost on some.

SARAH is no self help guide; in parts it is disquieting but highlights the significance and need of a deeper level of communication between loved ones before it’s too late.

SARAH by Stevie Helps was at The Lowry, Salford Quays on 15 January 2020.

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It’s quite often overlooked that, as well as an appeal to our social consciences, J.B.Priestley’s classic play, An Inspector Calls, carries a thinly veiled threat. One of many strengths of Stephen Daldry’s returning production is that the inspector (Liam Brennan) delivers this brutal warning directly to the audience, rather than the assembled cast of characters.

Set in about 1912 (but created at the end of the second world war) An Inspector Calls depicts the family of a wealthy factory owner (Arthur Birling) whose celebration of the betrothal of their daughter, Sheila, to Gerald Croft, the son of even more successful rivals, is interrupted by the arrival of one Inspector Goole. Goole announces the dreadful death by suicide of a working class woman (known both as Eva Smith and as Daisy Renton, for reasons which will become apparent), and as the evening progresses, tears down the hypocritical facade on which their respectability and social standing is founded, by showing how each of them represented an abusive and exploitative link in the chain leading her to self-destruct.

At the heart of the play lies a clash of philosophies. At the very moment Birling senior is pronouncing that ‘a man has to mind his business and look after his own’ (i.e. ‘there’s no such thing as society’), the doorbell announces the arrival of Inspector Goole who will maintain that, ‘[w]e are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’

The continuing relevance of this debate is one reason the play is on the GCSE syllabus of several examining boards (hence, at least 1000 of tonight’s sell-out crowd are GCSE students). The age of the audience has consequences for the production – grabbing and holding attention being among the challenges.

To this end, Ian MacNeil’s astonishing set design can lay claim to being the star of the show. The Birling’s home is represented as a giant doll’s house (which the occupants seem to have outgrown). It swings open to reveal their private lives (and later, literally falls apart). The rest of the set, exquisitely and atmospherically lit by Rick Fisher, not only creates a hyper-natural three-dimensionality, it reminds us that, although set pre-world war one, Priestley’s initial audience were the immediate survivors of world war two (adding a double layer of dramatic irony to Birling’s confident prediction that there will be no war with Germany).

The actors are mic’d up, though the performances still tend towards the shouty. One thousand plus (even reasonably well-behaved) 15-year-olds exude an ambient hubbub, constantly threatening to boil over. (As I say, tonight’s crowd is largely considerate and attentive, but there is a constant sense that we are never more than a thespian mis-step from riotous pantomime).

The broad stroke direction makes it hard to assess the performances, but none can be said to let the side down. Christine Kavanagh’s Sybil Birling is regally pompous, whilst Jeffrey Harmer as her husband, bloviates to good effect throughout. The younger roles could be a little more nuanced in delivery (it’s hard to believe that Ryan Saunders’s Eric, a giggling drunken clown, might join his sister, Sheila in a lasting change of attitude towards those less fortunate). Gerald has always been the trickiest role in the play. Alasdair Buchan opts to play him largely for laughs – understandable, given the crowd, but we need to imagine that the transformed Sheila still sees something worth salvaging in him.

Chloe Orrock’s Sheila is so flippant and spoiled to begin with, she almost leaves herself too much ground to cover in convincing us she is the brightest and the best hope for her class. To my mind she just about pulls it off. It’s a brave and eye-catching performance.

There’s no point in denying it – the ghost of Alastair Sim haunts every actor taking on the role of Inspector Goole. Priestley surely knew the challenge he was throwing down in describing the inspector as someone who ‘need not be a big man, but he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness’. Liam Brennan makes a good fist of the challenge, making a Calvinist Scot of the man. The inspector – part policeman, part angel of justice – could use a little more command and gravitas in his closing peroration, but Brennan makes us feels he is the master of those characters gathered on the stage for his cross-examination and our judgement.

Widening inequality, growing injustice, increasing exploitation of the vulnerable by the sanctimonious rich and powerful. Seventy-five years on, An Inspector Calls remains a play for our times.

The National Theatre’s production of An Inspector Calls is at The Lowry, Salford Quays from 15-18 January 2020 and tours until 23 May 2020. See website for full tour details.

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Climaxing as it does, with his emotional recounting of a series of difficult, even traumatic, events he endured growing up on a tough estate in Kentish Town, Scottee’s show, Class, has something of the same challenge for the critic. More than once, he struggles to keep a lid on his emotions – is this real or is he acting? Does it matter? Is this art or ‘life porn’? Does it matter?

Do the working class poor (14 million of them, and counting) need our love or our money? You decide. (You will get to do this, by the way).

While I understand Croce’s objections, I am going to review Class. One reason is that Scottee is attempting to do something that matters – bring a truthful account of the lives of the working class poor to an essentially middle class audience. (An account, by the way, much of which chimes with this reviewer’s own childhood memories – that there are precisely 30 years between Scottee’s birthdate and mine, and yet so little has changed, should give us all pause for thought.)

A second reason is that so much theatrical representation of the working class lacks truth and insight (often giving the impression that the writer’s only first-hand knowledge is via a few distasteful encounters while living in student digs). As a Boltonian, I can proudly exempt Bolton playwrights from this failing; Bill Naughton, Les Smith and Jim Cartwright have, each in his own way, presented working class life in empathic yet unblinking ways. Scottee, taking a demanding autobiographical route, tries to do the same.

He can be scathing about middle class misconceptions, but not (at least on a one-to-one basis) brutal.

“We’re all friends. Let’s keep it light and lovely!”

It isn’t all hunger, horniness and heartbreak, especially early on. Scottee prances onstage –crimson shell-suit, budgie-swing earrings – and berates us with some excellent observational humour. There are plenty of laughs, here. Of course, much of the comedy is double-edged: how did you play out? How did you lose your virginity? What did you do when someone knocked at the front door?

“Nice alcoholics? Good addicts?” Yes, says Scottee. There are such.

Painting a vivid, personal portrait of often bleak and cruel, poverty-stricken lives, Scottee, wisely, doesn’t offer answers – he leaves us with the question: what can we do about it? What can be done that doesn’t just settle for ‘performed kindness’, ‘performed socialism’?

It struck me, leaving the auditorium, how loud and chattery the (largely middle class) audience were. I’m not sure that’s encouraging. It was as if this was just another show. Just like any other fringe production. See it; give it a standing ovation; get out; laugh and chatter your way to the next one.

I suspect that isn’t the response Scottee hopes for. Maybe a little quiet reflection? Maybe a sincere discussion about what ought to be changing, but isn’t? He deserves more. So do the 14 million.

Scottee: Class is at Home, Manchester from 23-26 October 2019.

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How did you find out you were HIV positive?

I got ill while on holiday with my parents. I was 16-years-old and we just thought it was something dodgy I’d eaten. When we got back to Manchester my Mum took me to the emergency doctor who said it was probably a waterborne infection – I lost over a stone in weight.

Then I got other symptoms in the downstairs department a few weeks later and so took myself to the GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinic. They told me I was HIV positive two weeks after my 17th birthday.

I had quite a bad sero-conversion – when the body recognises it has HIV and you get symptoms – but for many people the symptoms are similar to a bad cold and they don’t recognise that it is HIV.

What was your initial reaction to the diagnosis?

Total shock and a feeling I’d let people down. I wasn’t stupid, I knew about STI’s and I’d had a conversation about safe sex with my Mum too. But I hadn’t met any other openly gay men prior to meeting this guy – when I did, it was exciting and validating. I let him take the lead as he was older.

I felt ashamed that I’d made such a stupid mistake. Plus, in 2003 I was given a life expectancy of around 37 years – so it was fairly traumatic.

How has your view changed since then?

HIV healthcare was pretty good when I was diagnosed but it has completely changed over the past 15 years. Now I take just one tablet a day and that keeps me healthy.
It took me a long time to shake-off the self-shame and stigma I felt. It was deeply connected to the shame I already felt as a gay man – internalised homophobia is really common amongst gay men – and it was very powerful.

Now I can rationalise that it is just a virus, it doesn’t care who I am or how I caught it – it’s humans who judge like that.

You said you didn’t tell many people for 14 years. What was it like to live with that secret?

I didn’t tell my family which is the thing that haunts me the most. We’re really close but that is how powerful the stigma of this disease can be. I know lots of other HIV positive people who have similar stories of staying quiet with those closest to them.
Over the years I thought I had it all boxed-off and compartmentalised, but the pain worked its way into every aspect of my life. I’d get depressed or angry for little or no reason and I’d sometimes turn to alcohol or drugs to try and self-medicate.

What changed to make you start being more open about being HIV positive?
It all came to a head with a mini-breakdown last year and I knew something had to change. I wrote a letter to my closest family members pouring my heart out and explaining everything.

When did you first have the idea to turn your experience into a play?

I’ve always dreamed of doing something like this with my story and people who knew my story always said how remarkable it was and what a great play it would make. Oddly, I never realised how dramatic it was, as it was just my life!

I work with a range of amazing theatre companies including Contact in Manchester and 20 Stories High in Liverpool and they often use real stories as a starting point for their work, so I was inspired by them, as well as theatre heroes of mine such as trans-theatre maker, Kate O’Donnell and performance artists, Stacy Makishi and Bryony Kimmings.

What was it like to write about something so personal?

I’ve always used writing and poetry to help me make sense of the world and my own experiences so it felt quite natural. But the piece took me to some difficult places and made me revisit my teens with an adult perspective which was tough.

I’ve never written a solo-show before though, so it’s been a long learning process – thankfully I have a whole host of inspiring writers, dramaturgs and theatre-makers around me to help and guide me.

What can people expect who come to see it?

A funny, frank but unapologetic look at what it means to grow up gay and HIV positive in a straight and HIV negative world.

The piece is full of humour but also tinged with moments of pain and sadness – so bring the tissues. It’s not just a monologue either, there’s ‘bad’ drag, lip-syncing, an interactive quiz and loads more that I can’t reveal – expect to go on a journey with me and the rest of the audience.

What is the one thing you would like other people to know about living with HIV?

People living with HIV are demonised as being infectious or dangerous, but this isn’t true. Most new infections come from people who don’t know they have the virus, that’s why it’s so important to get tested regularly. It’s national testing week so get to it!

In fact, people who have been on effective HIV treatment for over 6 months and have an undetectable level of virus in their blood cannot pass on the virus – so people like me are functionally cured in a sense. That’s a radical new development in HIV that people don’t really know about.

Is there anything you’d like to say about the show?

Only that I hope it inspires people to live their lives more openly and honestly and without shame.

First Time, written and performed by Nathaniel, is at Waterside Arts Centre, Sale on 25 July 2019 as part of the Refract festival before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe on July 31.

Interview with Manchester-based and acclaimed alternative singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Minute Taker aka Ben McGarvey.

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Having just moved house myself, I am glad to say that the house I have moved to is not haunted (although I have not tried out a ghost box yet, or any of the other ghost hunting equipment we are introduced to in this production). I think if some of the weird goings-on that Ollie and his family experience as they move into Cold Hill House happened to me, I would be moving out pretty smartish!

In this production, the stage design by Michael Holt, perfectly introduces us to the strange Georgian mansion that our family has moved into.

Parents, Ollie and Caro are excited about their move from Brighton to the Country, having bought the house of their dreams, which they can barely afford.

Daughter Jade, technology-addicted and surgically attached to her smartphone, is disappointed to have moved away from her friends. As the play evolves, we learn the house has been empty for the past 40 years and we soon find out the reason why.  It becomes apparent that our family might not be the only residents of their dream home!

Shaun McKenna’s stage adaption provides several sub-plots that could explain the weird goings on. Modern technology is being installed – laptops, WiFi and an Alexa – which are all being affected in this strange old house. But, is it locals, Chris, a self-confessed tech geek and his friend, Annie, behind all the goings-on? Or, is there something more sinister and paranormal afoot? We get explanations of what ghosts are and if they really exist from different perspectives during the play.

There’s a strong performance from Rita Simons as wife, Caro, who is willing to believe in the paranormal and what she is experiencing right from the start. Joe McFadden (of Casualty and Strictly fame) plays husband, Ollie, excited by the opportunities the house provides, but his ‘chirpy-chappie’ routine feels overdone at times. Persephone Swales-Dawson gives a convincing performance as their excitable and scared teenager daughter, Jade.

There are good performances too from the village locals. Charlie Clements is the village technology geek brought in to help Ollie with his business, and Leon Stewart is builder Phil, surprised at some of the things he’s finding as he tries to rectify problems with the house. Padraig Lynch is the local vicar who turns up to sell raffle tickets but ends up getting more involved than he was expecting, while Tricia Deighton gives a quality performance as Annie, the craft shop owner with a secret.

Despite some good performances, and the ghostly going-ons achieved through some good effects, this production seemed rushed and disjointed, and I felt it would have worked much better in a more intimate setting than the large stage of the Manchester Opera House. After reading the book I was rather disappointed. An episode of Most Haunted is a much better option if you’re looking to be frightened.

The House On Cold Hill is at The Opera House, Manchester from 13-18 May 2019. Visit website for full tour details.

Read our interview with Charlie Clements and Persephone Swales-Dawson .

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The origins of the play have a royal and rodent beginning. A BBC official thought a  radio play by Agatha Christie would be a rather lovely gift for Queen Mary’s 80^th birthday in 1947.  The play ‘Three Blind Mice’ was duly broadcast as a half-hour play, no doubt to royal approval, and this formed the basis of the Mousetrap some five years later.

I mistakenly assumed that the Mousetrap had its world premiere in London however, the Theatre Royal Nottingham had that honour.

The story follows a group of people gathered in a country house/guest house, Monkswell Manor. They become cut-off by the snow and discover, to their horror, that there is a murderer in their midst. Who can be the culprit of a murderous mission, where potential victims are trapped in the genteel country house setting?

One by one the suspicious characters reveal their sordid pasts until at the last, the moment we all await, the identity of the killer and the motive is finally revealed.

The oak panelled room, one room with several entrances, with huge fireplace and velvet drapes sets the scene perfectly for us to meet Mollie Ralston (Harriett Hare) and Giles Ralston (Nick Biadon), married only one year and owners of Monkswell Manor. We await the first ever guests to their Country House Guest House. It’s more Mollie’s idea than Giles but since Mollie was left the property, he acquiesced to having paying guests. Mollie, at first seems to be the dutiful wife, but her character becomes more rounded in the second act as more of her story becomes clear.

Favourite for me and it seems many of the audience, is the winsome, sometimes acerbic, Christopher Wren ( Lewis Chandler)  whose timing is perfect for his nasty little quips produced with a childish mischievous smile.

Only Fools and Horses actress, Gwyneth Strong brings authenticity to Mrs Boyle.  Reminiscent of Hercule Poirot’s friend, Inspector Japp, Sergeant Trotter (Geoff Arnold) keeps the erstwhile group in check whilst Mr Paravicini (David Alcock) provides Italian charm and sometimes a little bit of menace.

The fast pace continues in the second half as we are kept guessing, due to so many twists and turns, who could be the cold-blooded murderer?

Looking around the theatre, it was heartening to see that there was a good cross section of ages, which hopefully means that The Mousetrap is here to stay for a while longer.

The Mousetrap has a brilliantly intricate plot, where murder lurks around every corner. It’s a good old-fashioned thriller, well-acted and stands the test of time. As Noel Coward said in his bristly message to Agatha Christie, in September 1957 “Much as it pains me, I really must congratulate you.”

The Mousetrap is the longest running show of any kind in the history, and as we are asked by a member of the cast in their final bow – I promise I will ‘keep the ending in my heart!’ and long may the show continue.

The Mousetrap is at The Lowry from 13-18 May 2019 and touring until February 2020. Visit website for full tour details.

Read our interview with Gwyneth Strong.

Read Mathew Prichard’s memories of his Queen of Crime grandma, Agatha Christie.

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Although there have been some cast changes along the way it comes with its main star attraction, Katherine Parkinson (well-known from her TV roles in The IT Crowd and Humans) who leads a terrific cast with all the grace and precision of Judy, the 50s housewife she’s created.

But as the inverted title suggests, nothing is quite as it seems in Judy’s world of domestic bliss. The show opens on a scene straight from a mid-20^th century domestic sit-com. Anna Fleischle’s detailed double-tiered set brings the full-house into view. From the sunshine yellow kitchen to the pink flamingo bathroom, everything is bright and breezy. Looking a pretty picture wearing a full circle skirt and perfectly pinned hair, Judy sits at her trendy formica kitchen table before lifting the lid on her Apple Mac, and on the whole fantasy of living a 50s life in the 21^st century.

Judy, it’s slowly revealed, is a confused mix of contradictions. At one level she strives to be an authentic 50s housewife for estate-agent husband, Johnny (Jo Stone-Fewings), fetching his slippers as he arrives home from work, while making sure there is a hot dinner waiting in the oven.

Judy cleans her already spotless house with a carpet sweeper, feather duster, a bit of lemon juice and vinegar. She battles on with an original 50s fridge loudly humming away as it struggles to keep pace and serves her guests nibbles of devilled eggs and cheese straws. Meanwhile all these things, including her vintage dresses, are sourced from shopping on the web.

The contrast of worlds is brought into more stark contrast as we’re introduced to the couple’s friends, Fran (Siubhan Harrison) and Marcus (Hywel Morgan) who like the clothes and dancing of the decade but that’s as far as it goes. Judy’s feminist mother Sylvia (a feisty show-stopper of a performance from Susan Brown), who is horrified her educated daughter would willingly give up a career, and Jo’s boss, Alex (Sara Gregory) who is simply bemused by it all.

It sounds topsy-turvy and much of it is. But what makes it work so effectively as a comedy are the well-observed moments that capture not only Judy’s insecurities, but those of a generation of women. While Judy turns to the 1949 classic, ‘How to run your home without help’ for advice on cleaning, millions more are reaching for the much lauded KonMarie method of tidying.

As Judy’s mum reminds her, she is nostalgic for a life she never knew. At the same time joker Marcus reminds us #MeToo is not simply an issue of the past but is happening now. In the laughter, Laura Wade creates a world that is unusually both thought-provoking and escapist. For all our 21^st century advances we still haven’t mastered the ability to turn back time, even if we wanted to. And we’re left wondering if our strange, fantasist heroine is really so different from the rest of us in wanting her world a bit calmer, cleaner and a little less real.

For struggling home-makers everywhere, it’s a must see.

The National Theatre and Theatr Clwyd’s co-production of Home, I’m Darling is at The Lowry from 23-27 April 2019.

Read our interview with Katherine Parkinson.

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Leigh has tweaked the script for this new production, and director, Sarah Esdaile has injected some of his original authenticity by allowing the actors to imagine their characters as fully-human in off-stage scenarios.

This has paid off with a richly layered production that keeps comedy and tragedy never more than a hair’s breadth away. As fast as the laughs keep coming so do the genuine body-blow barbs – and that’s just between husband and wife.

Janet Bird’s wonderful design literally removes the veneer of respectability when it lifts and unfolds to reveal Beverly preparing to welcome guests into her fabulous, on-trend, new home. On the surface she has it all: the real – not just leather look – leather three-piece, the fully-stocked drinks cabinet, and high-tech fibre-optic lamp. But even before the night descends into chaos we spot little chinks in Beverly’s well-presented armour when she puts a gift of Beaujolais in the fridge.

As over-bearing hostess Beverly, Jodie Prenger, sashays around the room in her paisley-print maxi-dress, demanding her guests dance to Demis Roussos, force-feeding them cheese and pineapple sticks, and making quiet divorcee, Susan sick with ‘just another top-up’ of gin.

Yet, despite the monstrous absurdity of her character, Prenger lifts her above caricature, to give a mesmerizing performance that captures Beverly’s sadness and vulnerability as well as her affected one-upmanship. She looks like a woman who enjoys life but has had hers stifled in this suburban box.

Vicky Binns, dressed in a cute baby-pink mini-dress, plays wide-eyed neighbour, Angela with just the right balance of innocence and knowing. Rose Keegan looks a little shell-shocked as Susan who has come to the party because she’s been thrown out of her own home for daughter, Abigail to host her own. She doesn’t have much to say but makes each line memorable with a tortured tone.

If you think the women come out of it badly, Leigh gives masculinity an even rougher ride in Beverly’s workaholic bore of a husband, Laurence (Daniel Casey) and the handsome but violent Tony (Calum Callaghan).

It is an absorbing production where the well-observed physicality of the characters brings as much humour as the sharp lines they deliver.

While the layers are peeled from these middle-aged lives to reveal the chaos and sadness beneath, the raw sound of a new generation beats through the wall. Forty-years on, décor, tastes, use of language, and certainly house-prices have changed. But strip these away and we’re left wondering if a grown-up Abigail living in the suburbs would be so much different from her mum?

Abigail’s Party is at The Opera House, Manchester from 8-13 April 2019.

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Set in a run-down estate in Bradford it tells the story of two friends, Rita and Sue who each start an affair with an older married man, Bob when he gives them a lift home after babysitting his kids.

Ahead of its week-long run at the Lowry we chat to actor David Walker who plays Sue’s drunken Dad.

Since Rita, Sue and Bob too was written in 1982, a lot has changed in society’s understanding of grooming and abuse of power. Has any of the content been adapted because of this?

No. Andrea’s work seems almost prescient now, it resonates in this modern understanding.

When the film premiered in 1987 a journalist commented that it couldn’t possibly be real because nobody lived their lives like that. How do you relate to it?

I think that journalist was out of touch with the ‘reality’ of many people’s lives, an attitude that seems uncannily prevalent still.

How are modern audiences responding to it?

It’s very interesting to hear people’s reactions, those who saw the film when younger, now re-evaluating their opinions of the piece, whilst still enjoying the humour Andrea injected in her work.

Is there a difference between reactions in the north and those in the south?

Not really. The more interesting difference in reaction is between the younger audience, sometimes drama students, and the aforementioned ‘re-evaluators.’ 

Are you doing anything special for your run in Bradford?

We usually do a Q&A with the audience once a week. In Bradford we have one after every performance.

Is it purely a period piece or does it still have relevance today?

Our experience is that it still has an enormous amount of relevance for many people.

Your character is simply referred to as Dad. Why do you think he doesn’t he have a name?

Andrea didn’t give him one! In my mind, he has a name, but I like Andrea’s clean simple approach to assigning her characters.

What’s the secret of playing a convincing drunk on stage?

Hmmmm…. play the physical, not the knowledge? Most people don’t realise how ‘drunk’ they’ve become!

Why should people come and see the show?

38 years on, it’s still shocking, hard hitting….. and very funny. Cheers, Andrea!

Rita, Sue and Bob Too is at The Lowry, Salford Quays from 9-13 April 2019.

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It’s probably fair to say most of the audience have either read the book or seen the film. If you haven’t, you’re in for a high-speed ride and I won’t spoil the story. This psychological thriller has twist upon twist to keep the audience gripped to the end. And it is clear from the full-house at The Lowry that even once people know the outcome they want to watch again to look out for clues.

In many ways that’s the enduring appeal of a good who dunnit. When you know the ending it does affect how you watch and some of the tension is bound to be lost. But on a second watch you notice things perhaps you didn’t the first time, making it just as enjoyable for a different reason.

At the centre of the action is Rachel Watson (Samantha Womack), a downtrodden commuter, whose world as she knew it has fallen apart. It seems everywhere she looks there are people living the life she dreams of. First there is her ex-husband, Tom (Adam Jackson-Smith), new wife, Anna (Lowenna Melrose) and their gorgeous baby, Ellie. Then there is Megan, the Girl on the Train (Kirsty Oswald) and her loving husband, Scott (Oliver Farnworth).

Every morning when Rachel’s train stops at a signal, she watches Megan and Scott through the window of their home. In her fantasy they are Jason and Jess – the kind of perfect couple she longs to be a part of. Then Megan disappears and all is not as it seems.

Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel’s adaptation stays close to Hawkins’ gripping story. Andrzej Goulding’s clever projection design is used to re-create the train, as well as metaphorical elements of psychological instability during flashbacks from Rachel’s unreliable memory. James Cotterill’s set design effectively contrasts Rachel’s life to the one she had with Tom. And Jack Knowles dark, atmospheric lighting works to draws us further and further in.

As mousey, none-descript Rachel, wearing ill-fitting clothes and swigging vodka straight from the bottle, Womack is almost unrecognisable from the glamorous blonde we’ve come to know. It’s easier to imagine her as new wife, Anna. But Womack takes this complex, demanding role and makes it her own. She’s at times vulnerable, psychotic, humorous and sharp. There is no doubting she is disturbed. But is she disturbed enough to be a killer?

Womack draws us in and keeps us guessing for the whole journey.

The Girl on the Train is at The Lowry Theatre from 1-6 April 2019 and touring nationwide until October 2019. For full tour details visit thegirlonthetrainplay.com

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