How many young folks nowadays are familiar with the jargon of trains and railways , “engine”, “coach” and so on? Will a sizeable number share a yearning for the bygone days of steam? I ask because I have an awkward feeling that a substantial proportion of audience members will exit this new production of the 1984 Andrew Lloyd Webber hit without having the faintest idea what the characters were meant to represent. No matter, say this show’s long-standing legions of fans – the original Trevor Nunn-directed production ran in the West End for 18 years – for this is a musical on roller skates! All the actors, who play personified trains come to life, sing while whizzing about on wheels! What more could you possibly want? A considerable amount more, as it transpires, starting with a coherent story and characters we can care about, no matter whether they are a “first-class observation car” (nope, me neither) or not. The cavernous Troubadour space in Wembley, all 1,120 sq m of it, has been transformed into a purpose-built “Starlight auditorium”, akin to a high-tech skate park.
A huge track swoops around the audience seating in Tim Hatley’s design and there is a ferocious 1.5-metre “Bowl” ramp, down which performers on scooters undertake backflips. Large video screens pump out irredeemably naff 80s-style graphics as the trains gear up to race against each other and the volume is at all times unremittingly loud.
Aside from the admittedly impressive skating h.
