The music is just one part of the explosion of song, lights, drama, action, film, storytelling and of course, the legendary high speed, acrobatic skating that make this now long-in-the-tooth show such an enduring favourite. There have been a few tweaks and modifications along the way - there’s no Smoking Carriage character any more - but if you’d never seen the original West End version or read the blub, you’d simply accept that the inclusion of a 3D film, to replace the live race scenes, which require the rather more elaborate static stage set of the London production, kept it feeling contemporary.
The costumes are complex, shiny and bright, and clever too, designed to capture the characteristics of the train types of the characters, but it’s the performers who do the real job of bringing the locomotives, freight, carriages and engines to life. This isn’t The Royal Shakespeare Company by any means, so the acting itself is not the star of the show. It’s everything else that is. Musicals are all about the entertainment and the experience, and this certainly delivers in that respect.I wouldn’t say that I was able to quite suspend disbelief enough to forget that these are people on skates, rather than actual trains, but the mannerisms and moves that they affect are pretty train like. I am sure that the younger members of the audience, of which there were many, will have accepted the illusion and enjoyed the magic as it was intended.
It’s a fun, action packed, feel good story, the singing performances are excellent and the songs are catchy, entertaining and moving, which in itself might make for a good show - and then of course there’s the big bonus – the skating –which is undeniably very cool and impressive. It’s possible that the original show, with platforms and tracks coming out into the auditorium, so that the skaters flew past the heads of the audience, would have been on a whole other level of drama, but even this somewhat more contained version, which still employs plentiful jumps and ramps, allowed for some spectacular action. The fast on-the-spot spin that the flamboyant Electra shows off was a particular hit.This is a show that kids will love. They did love it, if the cheering, laughter and whoops of appreciation were anything to go by. It was also clearly a treat for the adults in the crowd, who just as enthusiastically joined in with any waving and clapping along that was required. It’s hardly high culture, but you’d have to be pretty hard hearted to fail to root for the underdog, be lifted by the spirit of the Starlight Express, laugh at the comic asides, feel the emotion of all the setbacks and heart breaks and smile when the good guy, or should I say Steam Train, gets his gal. Sorry. Gets his First Class Carriage.