minimaster
Minimasters hop aboard The Railway Children live at King’s Cross Station
11 year old Minimaster, Bethan, took her family to see The Railway Children live at King’s Cross Station. Read her full review here…
On Saturday 6 June 2015, my brother, my sister and my mum and I went to London to watch The Railway Children. I haven’t read the book before but I watched the film a long time ago, so I knew the storyline roughly.
I was very excited and I anxiously awaited the show. We travelled on the train to London Waterloo and then took the underground to King’s Cross station. When we arrived it was just a short walk further to the theatre. We had an ice cream and then went in.
We adored the layout of the foyer – it was laid out like a real train station! There were suitcases in the corners, signs and old posters of the railway! All the staff were dressed in costume, even those selling the drinks.
The stage was really unique, it was laid out like a railroad track and moving platforms on the track made up the stage setting. The audience sat on both sides of the track. I wondered how they were going to make sure all the audience could see, but I didn’t have to worry! There was a tunnel on one side and a bridge on the other side. We got into our seats just in time for the show to start. There was an atmosphere of an olden times railway setting. Before any dialogue started actors just walked onto the stage and waved at people as if it was an average day at the station. The costumes fitted the era perfectly.
The story is about three rich children who go to the country because their father got taken away. It’s about their adventures and the friends they make.
The show started really well and they introduced the three children. I thought Roberta is the annoying one, as she is the oldest and could be a bit stuck up. Peter is the middle boy and he is very loyal. He got a model Green Dragon train for his birthday. I think I’m most like Phyllis, the youngest, because she is very crazy and has no clue what she says sometimes!
My favourite scene in the first half was when their father got taken away, it nearly made me cry! At the end of the first half, the REAL STEAM ENGINE came on to the stage as the children risked their lives to save the people on it.
I didn’t enjoy the interval just because the story was left on such a cliffhanger! During the interval you could buy merchandise, and get snacks and drinks. It lasted for 20 minutes so there was plenty of time to do what you needed to do. During the interval there was a clever set change. We soon got back into our seats and the show continued.
The second half was extremely humorous and everyone kept referring to the “old gentleman”! Sadly, soon it was all over.
My favourite thing about the show was the way it included the audience and the real steam train coming through the tunnel was astonishing and looked like the green dragon (which was the train that Peter had got for his birthday). The steam train looked quite old but it was a beautiful dark emerald green, there was steam puffing from the funnel!
This is one of my favourite theatre performances yet because of the uniqueness and the characters that were acted out so well. If anyone wants to see this I would say they should because of the characters, the setting, the stage and being over all the most unique theatre performance I have ever seen! It added it’s own twist on things and you always felt like you were included. It is suitable for all ages and I would rate it 5 stars!
