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Hull Truck; Hope Mill, Manchester; Barn, Cirencester; New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme; Watermill, NewburyThe Railway Children reduces our critic to tears, and a topical take on The Wizard of Oz blows her away as festive family shows return with a bang around the countryCovid precautions duly observed, it’s time for the seasonal celebrations of togetherness that were so cruelly derailed last year by the virus. Full steam ahead for family shows! First off, Hull Truck’s The Railway Children. Mike Kenny’s adaptation of E Nesbit’s book was a runaway success when it was launched at the National Railway Museum in 2008, and not just because it featured a real steam train. The story of three children adapting to a new life after their father is wrongly accused of a crime, and giving shelter to a Russian refugee cruelly torn from his own family by an autocratic regime, is set at the beginning of the 20th century, but the themes it explores – of separation and loss, poverty and pride, kindness and sharing – are timeless.At the suggestion of director Mark Babych, for this latest production Kenny has teamed up with the composer John Biddle. The introduction of new songs and incidental music brings a fresh energy to the script and heightens its emotive impact. Adult actors, taking on the roles of narrators and children, strike just the right notes of innocence and curiosity. Ciaran Bagnall’s single set, surrounded by revolving railway track, summons to our imaginations family homes, a railway station, a tunnel, a cutting and a steam train coming to a sudden halt. Was there a dry eye in the house at the conclusion, when Gina Jamieson’s Bobby, seeing her father walking along the track towards her, called out: “Oh Daddy, my Daddy”? My eyes were too full of tears to tell. Continue reading...