The Railway Children takes to the tracks
Published May 23, 2025
This summer, Bradford 2025, York Theatre Royal and Keighley and Worth Valley Railway team up to bring the Olivier Award-winning stage production of The Railway Children to the tracks, as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Based on the classic children’s book by E. Nesbit, Mike Kenny’s enchanting stage adaptation has been reworked especially for Bradford 2025.
It will take place on the historic Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, which was also used as a location for the much-loved 1970 film version. Audiences will begin by taking a steam train from Keighley, with an immersive soundscape along the journey, before watching the performance in an adapted engine shed at Oxenhope station.
The Railway Children is directed by Damian Cruden, who revives his hit production first seen at York’s National Railway Museum in 2008, and at London’s Waterloo station in 2010, where the show won ‘Best Entertainment’ in the Olivier Awards.
This unique and memorable family-friendly show features a real steam engine as part of the staging as well as on the journey, with a purpose-built auditorium seating the audience on either side of a train track. The production runs across the summer holidays from 15 July – 7 September 2025, with half-price tickets for children aged under 16.
Set in 1905, The Railway Children tells the story of three children who are forced to move from wealthy Edwardian London to rural Yorkshire after their father, an official in the Foreign Office, is falsely imprisoned on charges of espionage. Living in newly impoverished circumstances, they find adventure and hope on the railway that passes nearby.
Taking the role of the children’s heroic Mother is Asha Kingsley, recently seen as Surinder in Pilot Theatre’s Run Rebel, with previous credits including The House of Bernarda Alba at the National Theatre. She is joined by Paul Hawkyard in the dual roles of the children’s imprisoned Father and the Russian political refugee Schepansky, who is taken in by the family when he arrives, lost and unwell, at the nearby station.
Eldest sibling Roberta is played by Farah Ashraf, who is currently touring in Polka Theatre’s Sisters 360. The role of Peter is taken by Raj Digva, with youngest sibling Phyllis played by Jessica Kaur. Station master Mr Perks and his wife are played by real-life couple Graeme Hawley (Coronation Street’s John Stape) and Elianne Byrne, while the Old Gentleman is played by Moray Treadwell.
Completing the cast are Zoe Lambert (Mrs Viney), Chris Hannon (Doctor/Butler), Max Gallagher (Jim/District Superintendent) and Alice Proctor (Between Maid), as well as a Youth Ensemble drawn from locally auditioned young participants.
Drawing on the themes of exile, compassion and kindness within the story of The Railway Children, and the character of the Russian refugee Schepansky, Stand & Be Counted Theatre are working with people seeking sanctuary to create a scene-setting audio experience for the audience as they journey to the show on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.
An Associate Company of Bradford 2025, Stand & Be Counted Theatre is the UK’s first Theatre Company of Sanctuary, who co-create work with and for people seeking sanctuary, celebrating, platforming and ensuring equality of opportunity. Bradford, a City of Sanctuary since 2010, also received a unique designation of Cultural City of Sanctuary earlier this year as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
The Railway Children opens at Keighley and Worth Valley Railway on 15July 2025 and runs to 7 September. Tickets are on sale now.