Review: THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, Glyndebourne

Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and his partner Rachael Hewer eschewed making banana bread during the Covid lockdown and decided to write an opera. After the pandemic, they went on to work on other projects, but unexpectedly Glyndebourne agreed to stage their new work, which made its world premiere last week.

E Nesbit’s story of three children forced to move from their comfortable London home to a cottage in the country after their father is falsely accused of sharing classified information is unashamedly stuffed with Edwardian nostalgia, so the update is fairly radical. Now set in the Cold War era of the 1980s, the children's father has been openly and falsely accused of espionage, leading to their exile to the countryside.

It's quite a move from some of Turnage's work such as the recent expletive-strew Festen at the Royal Opera House and the explosive Anna Nicole.

The production takes much influence from 1980s TV action series and classic spy themes, with the implied intrigue of a thriller. The book is compressed, meaning some of the book's characters have merged and some erased completely. One of the important elements of the story is that Daddy himself is a mysterious figure; we never know much about him or what he did and Turnage sensibly retains that mystery.

The focus of the story is always the three children and all three demonstrate really confident singing and acting. Jessica Cale has a lovely, soft soprano as Bobbie, burdened with her feelings of responsibilties as the eldest. Matthew McKinney is great as an awkward boy verging on adolescence as Peter and Henna Mun is sweetly assured and childlike as Phyllis. They are an excellent trio.

Cathy, the children’s mother, is played enigmatically by Rachael Lloyd and given much more agency than the docile, unnamed woman who retires to bed with flu. In a fun twist, she is also involved in activism, raiding government offices alongside her husband. Edward Hawkins, who plays both father David and Russian dissident Tarpolski, has a haunting bass that works well for both characters. 

The old man on the train has become a former England footballer called Sir Tommy Crawshaw played by a charistmatic James Cleverton. Gavan Ring makes an endearing Mr Perks, but both sing with unconvincing and inconsistent 'Northern' accents.

Do the updates work? Well I'm unconvinced that the dirty diesel trains of the 1980s hold as much romance or allure as the majestic steam locomotives of the Edwardian era.

The espionage aspect is a promising and fun idea, but is conveyed too seriously to be a truly children's opera and has too much childish allure for one for adults (for example, the reveal of the true traitor is lacking in drama). A song celebrating the green colour of the bridge commemorating the bravery of the children in averting the train crash is perfect in childlike sound and lyrics to engage younger members of the audience, but they will struggle to identify with the 80's political context.

Despite all the updates, audiences can be reassured that the famous final line of “Daddy, my daddy!” is very much retained; sung out beautifully by Cale before the final blackout.

Designer Nicky Shaw has done a cracking job, using black squares that enlarge and contract to cinematic effect for scene changes, along with Mark Jonathan's atmospheric lighting design. Max White's video design evokes effective outlines of cars and trains that are simplistic, but really work. The 80's setting is well-conceived, with stonewashed double denim for Peter, along with a Rubik's Cube to fiddle with. Phyllis carries a pink Care Bear and the adult women sport the distinctive hairstyles and questionable tailoring of the 1980s.

Unsurprisingly, Turnage's music draws heavily on rhythmic train sounds and whistles, with a smattering of comedic spy themes and a lovely snippets from "The Rite of Spring" to coincide with the appearances of Tarpolski, the Russian dissident. A stripped back ensemble and orchestra is expertly conducted by Tim Anderson. There are plenty of enjoyable and emotional moments, but more depth and intrigue is needed to really hit home.

The Railway Children will be performed at the Southbank Centre in a staged concert on 8 November