Skip to main content

Review of The Girl On The Train at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Paula Hawkins' 2015 novel The Girl on the Train was a stunning success, now having sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Having spawned a film a year later, it was perhaps inevitable that it would make it's way to the stage as well, and here adapter's Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel have produced a reasonable stab, albeit missing a little in the thrill department and also exposing a few of the weaknesses of the original novel along the journey.

Rachel Watson on her train journeys likes to watch houses that she passes, and one that is just doors from her ex-husbands has a particular couple in it, which she christens Jason and Jess. When Jess, real name Megan, goes missing though, the alcoholic Rachel embroils herself into the investigation. However, does her memory loses cover up the fact that she is more involved than anyone realises.

What The Girl on the Train does have in its central point is a remarkably strong female role, leaving the stage just briefly between scene changes, the role of Rachel Watson is certainly one that many female actors would probably like to get their teeth into. Here in the role is Samantha Womack, who, while never perfect in the role, she is a little too unlikeable and hard early on especially, gives a solid performance. What is particularly great though about Womack's portrayal, is the demeanour and physicality she brings to it. Visually, she portrays everything needed of the aggrieved Watson, looking on from her dingy flat as what might have been, quick to resort to getting to the bottom of a bottle to cure all ills.

Oliver Farnworth gives a nice performance as Scott Hipwell, husband to the missing woman, leaving the audience (who haven't read the book) totally unsure of his involvement. Indeed this runs across the whole spectrum of actors in this, including Adam Jackson-Smith as Rachel's ex, and Lowenna Melrose as his new wife Anna. They are playing their emotions close to their chest and despite all finding themselves incriminated in Rachel's telling of events at some point, their performances are well calculated to leave you unsure which way the path will lead.

Perhaps the two stand-out performances though come from Kirsty Oswald as the missing woman Megan, everything from her tremendously skilful physical ability in one particular scene, through to the raw emotion of her meetings with the therapist, Dr Kamal Abdic (Naeem Hayat) is brilliant and heartbreaking at times. Really, really well played.

Also superb is John Dougall as the dry humoured D. I. Gaskill, who grows into the best character and shares all of the best comedic moments, and indeed brings out the best of Womack in their scenes together. He is the highlight of the play for me.

Anthony Banks' direction upon James Cotterill's designed stage is fine, if a little gimmicky at times, nobody needs amusing arrival of chairs in a tense thriller. Also, Cotterill's set is a victim to the same problem of the recent one for Abigail's Party, failing to fill the large stage of the Derngate. Whether this is a new trend of one size fits all going on or not, either way, vast areas of black don't do a show any good at all. However, like Abigail's Party, this would once again have looked perfect on the Royal stage, because the set as it was, was really nicely put together, especially with Rachel's cramped flat looking cleverly like a train carriage. Perhaps be careful of too much background noise of set-shifting behind the scenes which did crop up a couple of times.

Lighting occasionally is a little off at times, which while I am sure is intended to leave a mood to the show, sometimes leaves actors in too much darkness altogether. There are some simple, but nice projections used, especially to depict the train sequences and one for Rachel's particularly heavy night.

There are other issues, it's clear that a knowledge of the original novel probably helps, especially in the first act where things are being put before you in a quicker way than a novel can describe. Also, the original story is perhaps exposed to having some rather curious character motivations when watching it over a shorter length of time. Also, to be honest, the ending is a little unsatisfactory as well for a worldwide bestseller perhaps.

Having said all this, the journey in The Girl on the Train is good, its thriller aspect is a little by numbers, but always entertaining, and anyone who has read the book will probably gain the most from it, as, as book adaptations go, it really isn't too bad.

Occasionally a bumpy ride, but mostly it's worth reaching the destination.
⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Monday 22nd April 2019 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.
The Girl On The Trains runs at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 27th April 2019 before continuing its extensive tour until October.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Breaking the Code at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Breaking The Code , the opening play in the new Made in Northampton season at Royal & Derngate, is a surprisingly old and rarely seen play. Written in 1986 by Hugh Whitemore, it tells the story of legendary codebreaker Alan Turing, a man who, in the 1980s, when this play first appeared, was relatively unknown. The years since the origin of this play have been good for Turing, with his life's work finally getting the recognition it deserves, and also, very much what this play centres on, a recognition of the horrific life and end that Turing had as a result of dealing with the laws of the day. Breaking the Code has seen life before on the stage of the Royal, as back in 2003, Philip Franks took to the role of Turing in a very well-received production. So, what of this brand new version directed by the Royal & Derngate's artistic director Jesse Jones? Does it live up to Turing's legend? That is an unquestionable yes with no machines needed to crack the class behind thi...

Review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Milton Keynes Theatre

There have been numerous productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's groundbreaking musical since it first appeared in 1968 and opened in the West End in 1973. One might wonder if there is still room for another tour. However, judging by the packed audience in Milton Keynes Theatre for the opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , much interest remains for this show. Also, with this production first seen at The London Palladium in June 2019, and with a few production elements altered, Joseph still has, after all those years, the room to change and evolve. However, the question is, does this change help or hinder the show's history? For those unfamiliar with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, it tells the story of Joseph, Jacob's favourite son, in a lighthearted and musical style that jumps between various genres. Joseph's brothers are somewhat envious of him, leading to them selling him into slavery to an Egyptian nobleman. As for ...