The Pump House Theatre Company’s production of The Girl On The Train is a stage adaptation of the best-selling novel known to millions through the hit film staring Emily Blunt. This production presents the story as a cold, spiky thriller with characters clouded in suspicion, a permanent chill in the air and a plot that keeps you guessing.
Alcoholic Rachel Watson is mesmerised by the life of a woman whose activities she only glimpses during her daily commute to work. Through the window of her suburban train she builds a fantasy life for this woman, until one day the woman vanishes and suddenly the dividing line between fantasy and reality becomes fatally important.
Director Andrew Knight has a clear vision for the sinister mood of the play, creating a shadowy atmosphere which keeps us uncertain about who we can trust and who we should fear. Although this is in essence a conventional whodunnit, the key difference of a central character blighted by alcohol related memory loss makes the storytelling intriguingly unique. Rachel Watson is played magnificently by Caroline Harris, who brings sensitivity and humour to a role that could be drenched in stereotypes of inebriation. Harris is clear and precise in her decisions around the character’s emotional journey, and each beat is delivered with conviction. Harris manages to encapsulate the hazy mess of uncertainty that surrounds the fog in the head of someone whose perception is clouded by booze, and captures in her stance and gait that sense of disorientation and imbalance found in a person whose world has been numbed by drink.
Also impressive in his performance is Dale Carpenter as Scott Hipwell. This supporting character is the husband of the missing woman and Carpenter catches the frustration and anger of his situation as well as the vulnerability and pain of mysteriously losing somebody you love.
I also really enjoyed the performance from Amy Bailey as DI Gaskill, the police woman tasked with finding out what happened to the missing woman. Bailey is witty, cynical, confident and questioning in equal measure, a delightful mix of the heroic police inspector you would hope you had in your corner if ever needed, and a pragmatic drudger who never takes their work home with them.
Complicated sets lead to slow scene transitions which dampen some of the tension and pace of the plot, despite the efforts of a heroic crew who move things as fast as possible. But overall, this is a suspenseful mystery which catches the imagination because of the engagingly flawed central character.
Book tickets here.
Their next production is PEOPLE by Alan Bennett, Tuesday 12th November to Saturday 16th November.
