E Nesbit’s The Railway Children has enjoyed national treasure status since it was published in 1906. The author, a prominent member and co-founder of the Fabian Society, fashioned an absorbing storyline, equal parts innocence and mystery, while subtly suggesting that the British establishment is not always to be trusted. Now, Mark-Anthony Turnage and Rachael Hewer have turned it into an opera, if not quite for children, then definitely of appeal to a broad family audience. By relocating the action to the 1980s they’ve shaken off the musty clouds of nostalgia that hover around its pages.
Rachael Hewer’s forthright libretto is dramatically effective, though it becomes disjointed towards the end (a chorus celebrating the colour of paint representative of the national railway network feels like it wandered in from another show). For the most part, however, it possesses a fast-paced John le Carré meets the Famous Five vibe, nicely mirrored by Stephen Langridge’s lithe-limbed production. Nicky Shaw’s versatile set, lit with pinpoint precision by Mark Jonathan, employs an open and shut camera effect that shifts the action from government office to station platform in the twinkling of an eye. Costumes range from Cold-War chic to 1980s baggy, and in case you still don’t get it, props include a Rubik’s Cube.
