When Paula Hawkins’ psychological thriller The Girl on the Train first hit shelves back in 2015, it quickly had the nation gripped. Now adapted for the stage, the production does a solid job of capturing the novel’s tense atmosphere, blurred moral boundaries, and the unreliability of memory.
Staying close to the source material, the stage version remains faithful to the book while offering a well-paced and theatrically satisfying adaptation. We follow protagonist Rachel Watson (Louisa Lytton), a troubled woman struggling with alcoholism and the aftermath of a failed marriage. Every day, she takes the same train past the house she once shared with ex-husband Tom (Jason Merrells), who has started a new life with wife Anna (Zena Carswell) and their baby, Evie. What starts as mere fascination soon becomes obsession, as Rachel becomes fixated on a seemingly perfect couple living nearby, inventing vivid fantasies about their lives. But when the woman she watches goes missing, Rachel finds herself inextricably tangled up in the investigation. As she struggles to piece together what happened, disturbing truths are uncovered which blur the lines between victim and suspect, reality, and illusion.
The production is minimalist in staging but highly effective. Cold and clinical lighting (Jack Knowles) helps underscore the psychological tension, with projections that nod smartly to the original book artwork and effectively denote passing of time between scenes whilst adding context to the story. The ensemble work is at times strong, though not always fully utilised. There are moments when the supporting cast could have been more dynamically integrated into the world-building, for instance, during the second act of the production, as they do not really feature at all.
The cast delivers consistently strong performances, grounding the psychological twists of the story in emotional truth. Each character is flawed in some way, making for great viewing. Louise Lytton as Rachel captures her vulnerability, volatility, and growing desperation with nuance, making her a compelling and empathetic figure even at her most chaotic. Her interactions with Tom and Anna are particularly charged, filled with layers of tension, awkwardness, and emotional history. Samuel Collings as Scott stands out for his intensity and ability to shift between charm, pain, and menace, keeping the audience constantly unsure of his motives.
The first act suffers slightly from pacing issues, occasionally dragging where tension should mount. However, the second act gains momentum as the psychological threads tighten. Warm lighting is incorporated only in the final moments of the play – a subtle but impactful metaphor for Rachel’s emotional shift and tentative path to recovery.
This is a gritty and atmospheric production that handles its dark themes with care. While not without flaws, The Girl on the Train makes for an engaging theatrical experience that keeps the audience guessing until the very end.
You can see The Girl on the Train until Saturday 3rd May https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-girl-on-the-train/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham/
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