'Strangers On A Train Set' is not quite what novelist Patricia Highsmith had in mind. Nevertheless, this play was a comedy triumph – written and performed by Maggie Fox and Sue Ryding.
LipService Theatre have been devising imaginative comedies through a female lens since 1985. Winning numerous awards over the years including the Stage Door Foundation Award for Excellence. Brilliantly, they are Associate Artists at The University of Salford. Connections to Greater Manchester didn’t stop there as the show was jam-packed with references to places such as: Manchester Piccadilly Station, Stockport, and of course Salford. As you can imagine, this was an ideal comedy for a Mancunian audience.
Jeff and Derrick were mammoth train enthusiasts, their trainspotting notebooks were never far away. One was a lover of the romantic, classic age of steam; the other was an admirer of Virgin Trains' Pendolinos – and the occasional Voyager. On the projected footage, whenever Jeff and Derrick adjusted the trains and miniature characters on the model railway, it manipulated the action on stage, which was a bigger version of the model railway. In this inflated version of the model railway, we met an old lady called Irene Sparrow and a stereotypical “UK Grime-listening” young man of today. After challenging him to turn down his blasting music, Sparrow found herself under suspicion of murder because the young man was found dead. This certainly was no everyday train journey between Manchester Piccadilly and London Euston. Each passenger read a book, which in turn magically transported them to alternative universes. Every classic film or book which significantly features trains was lovingly mocked.
The acting was on the mark. This was two women playing multiple roles, each character was nuanced and layered with hilarious idiosyncrasies. Derrick’s nasality in his geeky voice was wholly amusing, while Jeff was fundamentally Derrick’s pedantic sidekick. Don’t even think about quoting the wrong locomotive engine number when Derrick’s around. LipService Theatre’s decades of performance experience shone through here, it’s clearly got to a point where their comedy and clowning is effortless. The audience were treated as though they were attendees at the AGM of The Salford And District Model Railway Association. Again, this was lovingly mocking groups of passionate individuals who love trains.
There were so many creative ideas in this play, one criticism would be the play was perhaps trying to do too much, it felt a little overwhelming sometimes. However, the company really do make original comedies and there were many inventive ideas in it. The play between the live and the recorded was superb, the element of stand-up comedy worked a treat, and it was clever how the past and present eras of British Railway fused together. It was one hell of a crazy ride. You can tell there was inspiration from The Play That Goes Wrong. I haven’t laughed greatly at a piece of theatre like this for a while and it was made even more side-splitting by one particular audience member’s style of laughter tonight.
Michael Holt’s design featured a large constructed screen centre stage, the shape of which fairly resembled a Victorian train station building. It was appropriately blank at the top for the projection, but I didn’t think the rest of it needed to be blank. It didn’t look right. Although, the pile of suitcases and the buffet trolley were utilised well. Lighting, designed by Greg Akehurst, convinced me we were all in a village hall meeting but it soon turned more abnormal when we were transported to alternate dimensions. Sound by Rob Athorn brought the various worlds within the story to life: the soundbite of a steam locomotive swiftly blended with the audio of a HST speeding past at 125mph.
I’ve watched countless pieces of theatre which have covered many topics and stories but I’ve never seen anything that has explored the niche of trainspotting and model railway fanatics. There were several instances tonight where I thought: “What in the world am I watching?” That’s a positive comment though because it’s wonderful to watch something so refreshing. 'Strangers On A Train Set' was surprising, uproarious, and brightly bonkers. Seriously, who comes up with theatre like this? The gifted, LipService Theatre, that’s who.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 17/5/19
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