Martin Barrass and Suzy Cooper in The Railway Children - Live on Stage
by Best of Theatre Staff on Monday 4 April 2016, 11:54 am in Cast Changes and Announcements
From 27 April, Martin Barrass will return to the role of Mr Perks and Suzy Cooper has joined the cast as Mother in the Olivier Award-winning production of Mike Kenny’s stage adaptation of E. Nesbit’s novel The Railway Children – Live on Stage. Also joining the cast are Shaun McCourt as Jim and Adam Collier, Alan Drake and Julie Gilby.
Sophie Ablett continues as Bobbie, Matt Jessup as Peter, Beth Lilly as Phyllis, Lindsay Allen as Mrs Perks, Peter Gardiner as Doctor/Butler, Connie Hyde as Mrs Viney, Blair Plant as Father/Schepansky, Moray Treadwell as the Old Gentleman and Helen Brampton in the ensemble. The children’s ensemble is made up of four teams of ten children aged between 8 and 16.
Martin first played Mr Perks in the 2009 production at York Theatre Royal where he revived the role last year to critical acclaim. He played the role at King’s Cross Theatre for three months from October last year. In 2012, he appeared in the National Theatre’s production of One Man Two Guvnors as Alfie at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London. Martin has appeared in numerous television series, including Mike Conrad in Emmerdale and Ron Frost in Angels.
Suzy Cooper played Helen Sutherland in the National Theatre/Live Theatre tour of The Pitmen Painters and is a member of Howard Barker’s company The Wrestling School. She played Jackie in the made-for-television movies The Booze Cruise I, II and III with Neil Pearson, Mark Benton, Brian Murphy and Anne Reid. Suzy was also the voice of Robbie the Seal in the Warner Bros animation film The Little Polar Bear 2.
The Railway Children opened at King’s Cross Theatre to critical and public acclaim on 14 January 2015, following previews from 16 December 2014.
A purpose built 1,000-seat theatre, complete with a railway track and platforms, and with a state of the art air conditioning and heating system, was specially created for this production on King’s Boulevard, behind King’s Cross Station, a site which has been loaned to the production for the duration of the run by Google. The York Theatre Royal production, which is in association with the National Railway Museum, features a live steam locomotive and a vintage carriage, originally built in 1896.
The production at King’s Cross Theatre is in support of the Railway Children Charity that aims to help homeless and runaway children throughout the world, with 50p per ticket donated to the charity. To date, £335,000 has been raised by the theatre production since its West End debut in 2010.
Directed by Damian Cruden, the Artistic Director of York Theatre Royal, with design by Joanna Scotcher, lighting by Richard G. Jones, music by Christopher Madin and sound by Craig Vear, Mike Kenny’s adaptation of The Railway Children 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 production then opened at Waterloo Station in the former Eurostar terminal in July 2010, where it again played two critically acclaimed sell-out seasons and won the 2011 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, before opening in Toronto in 2011 in a temporary theatre built at the base of CN Tower in Roundhouse Park.
The Railway Children tells the story of Bobbie, 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, Perks, and embark on a magical journey of discovery, friendship and adventure. But the mystery remains – where is Father, and is he ever coming back?
2016 marks the 110th anniversary of the publication of Edith Nesbit’s much loved classic children’s book The Railway Children, which has subsequently been adapted for the stage and screen, most famously in the 1970 film version directed by Lionel Jeffries and starring Jenny Agutter, Bernard Cribbins, Dinah Sheridan and Sally Thomsett.
The production is presented in London by Tristan Baker & Charlie Parsons for Runaway Entertainment, Oliver Royds for BOS Productions and Sue Scott Davison, in association with York Theatre Royal and the National Railway Museum.