Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, based on the novel by Paula Hawkins
Simon Friend Entertainment
Lowry, Salford
February 11-15, 2025; 2 hrs 15mins
(also Sheffield Lyceum, March 4-8; Storyhouse, Chester, April 15-19; Liverpool Playhouse May 13-17; Leeds Grand July 1-5; Theatr Clwyd July 15-19)
As everyone who intends going to this production of The Girl on the Train will have either read Paula Hawkins's book or seen the film, there will be no spoilers in this review . Not a word will indicate who or what or why the deed was done. However…
The Lowry has a great producing stage; you can go straight from rainy, cold Salford to a scene set in rainy, cold London without taking your coat off. The only difference is that the friendly, helpful, volunteer stewards all have a Northern accent. And are helpful.
The set is a wonderful mix of colours, smoke and atmosphere, which the actors and director, Loveday Ingram, use to great effect. You want a train without any moving parts? You've got it. A rainy London squat? Oh yes. A police station with a helpful Met officer? Well half right...
As the lead character, Giovanna Fletcher, follows the clues down a number of rabbit holes and gradually gets a little less shouty. Which may be because the character moves from drunkard to drinking scented water. As the husband, Samuel Collins pulls off the difficult task of being both the partner who has left the relationship and a sympathetic male – a tricky thing to do, since he needs to be believable and straightforward which, when your partner pursues you both physically and electronically, is hard to pull off.
There are stock characters: it is a thriller, after all. The therapist, Kamal Abdic (Daniel Burke), crosses his legs in the therapy session to good effect, and uses phrases that countless plays and movies have ensured we know means that the other person is having good done to them. Being cast as a social worker/therapist must have actors heaving a sigh. Occasionally, those who have seen such plays as The Dog will note some similarities. This is no An Inspector Calls.
There were three tests the production needed to pass. Was it worth the 90 minutes it took me to get to the Lowry? Yes. Was the cough ratio of the audience in the scene-setting reasonable? Yes. Was the play worth missing a crucial football match - City against Real Madrid- for? Mmm...
Still; two out of three ain't bad. And still no spoilers.
More info and tickets here
