Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

Cast: Samantha Womack, Oliver Farnworth, John Dougall, Naeem Hayat, Adam Jackson-Smith, Lowenna Melrose, Kirsty Oswald, Matt Concannon, Phillipa Flynn.

Physical human manipulation and ease in which we can find ourselves drowning in a sea of guided abuse never makes for an easy bedfellow in which to immerse yourself in. From the outside looking in you can see all the traits, the subtle digs at the way someone controls another person, influences others to see the worst in that person, and yet when you are the one being expertly handled, all you see is the relief that addiction of any type can bring, that it is no longer your fault.

For some the mental abuse takes the form of emotional command, constantly belittling you but in such a way that it may take on the appearance of caring, a motivation in which they can get their own way and then blame the other person for all their ills; for some the moment that they release they have been played is too late, their words no longer mean anything to anybody else and the twist of the screw is that when a crime is committed it could be seen that they are amongst those that have their motives questioned.

It is a realm that nobody should find themselves within, and yet one that is brought superbly to life, despite the technical challenges that ensue with the scope of the piece involved, by the Director, Anthony Banks, and the cast of The Girl On The Train.

Based on the best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins, the stage version of The Girl On The Train returns the story of murder and manipulation back to its British roots, one that gives the chilling undercurrent and resonance of the impact of dependency its power. Its roots are situated in Britain’s enduring love affair with the railway, with the sense of having the glimpse of the voyeur as we speed through unhindered through the countryside and the town in equal measure, something that is lost in its American film setting.

With Samantha Womack making a tremendous return to the Liverpool stage as the alcoholic Rachel Watson and joined by a cast that not only finds itself passionately drawn to the story of memory, manipulation and murder but who expertly joins the lines of Noir to which the plot demands, The Girl On The Train is a warning, an encouragement to all, to never fall for such exchange of personal power. A play that deals with the pressure of living up to the phenomenon caused by the text its draws from with admiration and honesty, with deftness by all involved.

Ian D. Hall