Final casting announced as reharsals begin for THE RAILWAY CHILDREN at Waterloo

Joining Marcus Brigstocke are Pandora Cliffford as Mother, David Baron as the Old Gentleman, Mark Holgate as Jim, Elizabeth Keats as Mrs Perks, Tim Lewis as Peter, Stephen Beckett as the Father and Doctor, Amy Noble as Roberta, Blair Plant as Shepansky, Amanda Prior as Mrs Viney and Cook and Grace Rowe as Phyllis. They are joined by ensemble members Francesca Ellis, Felicity Houlbrooke and James Rigby.

Booking is now open for Damian Cruden’s critically acclaimed revival which runs for a second season at The Waterloo Station Theatre from 19 June until 4 September with press night on 28 June 2011. Seen last year by over 165,000 people, The Railway Children has designs by Joanna Scotcher who won the Whatsonstage.com award for Best Design, lighting by Richard G. Jones, music by Christopher Madin and sound by Craig Vear. With audiences sitting either side of a real railway track, the 1000 seat Waterloo Station Theatre was created especially for this production in the old Eurostar Terminal.

Mike Kenny’s adaptation was first produced by York Theatre Royal at the National Railway Museum, York, where it enjoyed two sell-out and critically acclaimed seasons in 2008 and 2009. The Great Northern Railway No 1, Stirling Single from the National Railway Museum, York, and the Old Gentleman’s Saloon that was used in the original 1970 feature film, will return to Waterloo as the production re-opens this summer. A North American production opened at the Roundhouse Theatre in Toronto earlier this month and further productions are being planned for New York, San Francisco, Melbourne and Sydney.

The Railway Children tells the story of Bobby, Peter and Phyllis, three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away. They move from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother where they befriend the local railway porter and embark on a magical journey of discovery, friendship and adventure. But the mystery remains – where is Father, and is he ever coming back?

E. Nesbit’s much loved children’s book, The Railway Children, was first published in 1906 and has subsequently been adapted for the stage and screen, most famously in the 1970 film version directed by the late Lionel Jeffries and starring Jenny Agutter, Bernard Cribbins, Dinah Sheridan and Sally Thomsett.

The Railway Children, a York Theatre Royal production, is presented in London in association with the National Rail Museum by Jenny King and Matthew Gale for The Touring Consortium (Railway Children), Tristan Baker, Oliver Royds, PW Productions and Sue Scott Davison. The production has been made possible with the support of BRB (Residuary) Ltd, Arts Council England, Welcome to Yorkshire and Network Rail.