The Girl on the Train is an adaptation of the bestselling Paula Hawkins 2015 novel and subsequent film released in 2016 staring Emily Blunt.
We open on the main character Rachel Watson (played by Samantha Womack of EastEnders and Game On) in a drunken mess, this is established as she throws up into a pizza box in her kitchen (a highlight!).
Rachel through circumstance gets embroiled in a missing person’s enquiry, having witnessed an encounter on a balcony of a house on her daily commute on the train. Already obsessed with the perfect couple she sees every day on her travel, she fantasises of their lives – clearly because her own is a train wreck – and then becomes further involved when the woman Megan Hipwell (Kirsty Oswald) is reported missing.
The audience then follows along as she stalks the players in the mystery trying to piece together her own broken memories of the night in question.
The narrative is mainly from Rachel’s perspective, however, Megan delivers her own dialogue very dramatically on stage.
Scenes criss-cross and overlap within one another to give the illusion of flash backs and recalled memories – the set changes, lighting and sound (very loud sound!) go towards making this interesting enough to hold your attention.
Samantha Womack’s performance improves in the second half with her character sobering up – perhaps more effort went into appearing drunk than acting in the first?
The vein of humour throughout is much needed to keep it light enough to follow, certainly seemed to have the right crowd for the odd Waitrose joke!
The Girl on the Train starring Samantha Womack is playing the Wyvern Theatre through to Saturday 12th October – Get your tickets here
