Railway Children

A big hit in London; perhaps not in Toronto.

When I mentioned to friends that I was going to see Railway Children, the unanimous response was that the reviews have not been that good.   So off I went with NO expectation, which to me.. is not such a bad thing as it can only get better...most of the time.

 A special theater tent was built for this show and it's next door to the Rogers Center and the spectacular CN Tower in Toronto.   Great location for our tourists!

Plan to arrive early so you can take a moment prior to the show to explore the 86-ton vintage steam locomotive that is used in the play, as well as other old trains, that sits at the Toronto Rail Heritage Centre http://www.trha.ca/, just outside the tent..  You don't actually need a show ticket to view the trains!  There's even a miniature railway that operates at certain hours of the day..

The show is about 3 siblings telling the story about their life as railway children.  Their comfortable upper class life in London comes to an abrupt end when father gets sent to jail and the siblings, along with their mother, have to move to a cottage in the country side, beside a railway.

The story is entertaining enough but it didn't blow me away.  There is a fair bit of audience participation but nobody get singled out on their own.  My teenage daughter struggled with the story line for a while, so I would expect the younger audience to find it a bit difficult to follow.   

One major setback of this theater are the seats.  They are not very big and I was seated next to an X-L gentlemen who didn't quite fit in his seat so he was partially in mine.   My legs were glued next to his, and I couldn't get my right shoulder and arm to fit within my space so I ended up sitting all crocked in the chair .  Very uncomfortable!    I kept moving and shifting for the 1st part of the show.  I did change seat after intermission and I enjoyed part 2 way better!

Would I recommend this show?   Sure, if you get tickets like mine.  Two for $40.