Moors Railway helps recreate magic of steam - 2 June 2008
Issued By: North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Issue Date: 2 June 2008
News Release
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has teamed up with York Theatre Royal in order to recreate the magic of steam in the forthcoming live theatre production of “The Railway Children.”
The NYMR has been playing host to a team of sound engineers keen to capture the real-life sounds from a working steam railway. Recordings have been made from the footplate - alongside the driver and fireman, as well as from inside the carriages, along station platforms, and at certain locations along the track.
“The results are absolutely fantastic and will certainly affect a response from the audience,” said Craig Vear, a professional composer and sound artist who has been commissioned to create the music for this new production.
In approaching the NYMR, he had one key objective in mind - to incorporate the sound of steam trains in the musical score and showcase their mechanical power as music.
Having spent a day on the Moors amidst engines, carriages, stations and tunnels, he was amazed by variety of sounds he had captured. He said: “Not until I rode the footplate, did I appreciate what it was like to be in charge of a mechanical steam engine. The roar of the fire, the power of the boiler pressure, the grinding of steel on rail, the shrill of the whistle, the pushing of pistons are in themselves an amazing orchestra of sound.
Add to this the movement of driver and fireman as they dance with levers and dials, coal and water, and you have a ballet going on at the same time. It really is something quite special and it highlights the uniqueness of steam railways in today’s world, as well as the brilliant job these guys do on the footplate.”
The recordings were undertaken on a number of steam journeys across the Moors between Pickering, Levisham, Goathland, Grosmont and Whitby. They will feature in a new production of this much loved children’s tale, to be performed from Friday 18 July to Saturday 23 August at the National Railway Museum in York.
The Railway Children tells the story of three children who live a wonderful life in London, but suddenly everything changes when two strange men appear and their father is mysteriously called away. Life in the Yorkshire countryside, by the railway, is a whole new world for the youngsters and their mother. New friendships, adventures and terrifying dangers await. But the mystery remains – where is father and is he ever coming back?
This new stage adaptation has been penned by the highly acclaimed children’s playwright Mike Kenny. It will be directed by York Theatre Royal’s Damian Cruden and designed by Joanna Scotcher. The play will also feature Stirling Single, a 39 tonne steam locomotive built in 1878.
Tickets for The Railway Children are on sale from York Theatre Royal priced £15 for adults, £10 for children, or £40 for a family of four. To find out more about the fun, excitement and romance of steam, call the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on 01751 472508 or visit www.nymr.co.uk
ENDS
Issued by Phil Bustard, Marketing & External Affairs Manager
North Yorkshire Moors Railway, 12 Park Street, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 7AJ
Tel 01751 473799
Mob 07837 405249