NUTS ‘The Girl on the Train,’ Review: Student theatre is back on track at The Cluny

A mesmerising adaptation of Pawla Hawkin’s ‘The Girl on the Train’. Following the suspicious disappearance of Megan (fabulously performed by Abi Hymas), the play explored themes of female suppression, abuse and alcoholism. All of the actors put in a captivating performance, bringing to life the twists and unexpected turns of the plot. The cyclical plot that follows the manipulation and gaslighting of three women was excellently executed on stage by director, Grace Jolly. 

In the heart of Ouseburn, the intimate Cluny provided the perfect location for the setting of the play, with its suburban small-town feel that set the scene for the missing person drama. This was further enhanced by the set design, which continued beyond the stage, immersing the audience into the crime scene right from their entrance. The play expertly collated the investigation narrative with intermittent retrospective thoughts and memories of the characters, seamlessly progressing the plot, whilst keeping the audience guessing. The plot progression was carried extraordinarily by Conrad Klappholz who played Detective Gaskill, maintaining an incredibly authoritative presence on the stage throughout the play. Alongside Gaskill, the exceptional performance of Lauren Ferman (playing Rachel), perfectly captured the confusion, turbulence and dysphoria of alcoholism, portraying the internal turmoil of the conflict in which she is both accused and the victim. Her position as ‘The Girl on the Train’ becomes imbued with the universal paradoxical desire to both escape and exist conventionally within society.  

Abi Hymas provided a heart-wrenching performance of the missing girl, Megan, flawlessly conveying the figure of a woman who is the quintessential product of patriarchal society. Despite being the missing girl, her voice certainly was not missing, acting as a pervasive reminder for the consequences of societal suppression of women’s discourse. A particularly compelling moment was her soliloquy, where her fabulously convincing performance was dramatised by the excellent production team’s use of lighting. An equally sensational performance was from Libby Husband, who played Anna, effectively capturing the territorial hostility that existed between the female protagonists who paralleled one another. Her performance remarkably switched between sharp anger to sassy moments of comic relief.  

‘The Girl on the Train,’ was fantastically executed, and every member of the cast performed with excellent professionalism, a truly animating and thought-provoking performance!