British novelist Paula Hawkins’ psychological thriller The Girl on the Train was published in 2015, selling over two million copies in two months, one review stating that “even the most astute readers will be in for a shock as Hawkins slowly unspools the facts, exposing the harsh realities of love and obsession’s inescapable links to violence“.
The American movie, set not in Britain but in New York and starring Emily Blunt, was released on 2016 grossing $173, having cost $45 to make, in spite of critics finding the plot “ponderous” and “sluggish“.
Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel’s stage adaptation was first seen at Leeds Playhouse in 2018, before transferring to London in 2019, where The Stage found it “assiduously dull… its problems could have been solved with a staging that had some imagination“!
It is this production which is currently touring and, thank goodness, is much better than the reviews above suggest!
Recovering (just!) alcoholic Rachel Watson (Laura Whitmore) longs for a different life. Although losing her job six months ago, she refuses to accept this and still travels into town every weekday by train, often being held at a red signal where she is able to view a ‘perfect couple’ in a window of their house. When she learns that the woman has disappeared, Rachel finds herself a very unreliable witness…
The main difficulty that Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel seem to have found in writing their stage version is that there is very little action in the novel, but a great deal of talking, mostly in the form of duologues, and one is aware much of the time that this is not an original play as there are too many short scenes, presumably corresponding to the chapters in the book. One feels that the direction (Loveday Ingram) needs to be tighter and that the play needs more energy: the plethora of scenes slows it down when pace is needed.
Having said this, the whole cast works very hard to make it work. Laura Whitmore is onstage all the time; it is a shame that at present her portrayal feels a little too controlled and careful, but she is often very convincing. Her ex-husband, Tom, is creepily played by Ed Harrison, very cleverly so that we do not realise until Act Two that there is much more to his persona than at first appears. His current wife, Anna (Zena Carswell), is suitably stressed throughout, as well she may be, and we spend much of the time wondering if either Daniel Burke as the psychiatrist, Kamal, or Samuel Collings as Scott is responsible for the “disappearance” of his wife, Megan. Freya Hipwell gives a competent, quiet performance, in spite of being landed with a lengthy monologue in the second half, which, in spite of her skills, does slow the whole play down, as does the lengthy epilogue!
Paul McEwan makes the most of the softly-spoken DI Gaskill, always seeming to appear when he is not wanted and gradually succeeding in putting together the pieces of his jigsaw puzzle, in spite of many ‘red herrings’ along the way!
Adam Wiltshire’s simple, black set design seems dated and unimaginative, giving the actors some very awkward entrances and exits. It is a shame that the original West End set and stylish projections are not being used for this tour, presumably because of expense. Jack Knowles’ smoky lighting design is a tad repetitive but succeeds in lighting faces and creating atmosphere.
All in all, an entertaining, undemanding, enjoyable evening at the theatre, greatly aided by a hard-working team of actors.
Review by John Groves
Rachel Watson longs for a different life. Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.
Rachel Watson – Laura Whitmore
Kamal Abdic – Daniel Burke
Anna Watson- Zena Carswell
Scott Hipwell – Samuel Collings
Megan Hipwell – Freya Parks
DI Gaskill – Paul McEwan
Tom Watson – Edward Harrison
Understudies – Ellie Gallimore, Oliver Joseph Brooke
Written by Paula Hawkins, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, and directed by Loveday Ingram.
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN
Theatre Royal Brighton
4 to 7 June 2025
