Market Deeping Model Railway Club review – a bit of British life nonsense | Theater

Before the show, a small LNER InterCity line sits in front of us. Our eyes follow it from one side of the stage to the other. Small parts are exciting, and this train reminds us of that attraction.

It means that when we meet the old boys of the Market Deeping train club, celebrating a second victory at the Stamford regional show, we feel sorry for their interests. Yes, it may be a fantasy to live for years and complete the OO powerhouse, but look at the details and relax!

William Ivory’s play was inspired by a sad event in 2019when four teenagers broke into the school hall at Welland Academy to find a model railroad exhibit. By laughing, they lost it.

By combining the camaraderie of the Calendar Girls with the pride of the Father’s Army, the playwright does not hide the mystery of the childhood obsession of the men, but establishes their silent devotion in a way that shows the life-destroying nature of the destruction. To add more appeal to the comedy, Ivory weaves the story into his Brexit story, Theresa May resigning and Boris Johnson promising to take back power. Should these enthusiasts, whose motto is “Pullmans not politics”, distinguish between the desire for steam engines and suspicion of foreigners? If building a parallel railway sounds very British, a throwback to the One Boy, what’s the chance to bring modernity to a Lincolnshire market town?

If the argument is too heavy to tell this good story, the best performers don’t let it seem that way. Directed by Adam Penford, the seven men, including Lucy Briers as the club’s eponymous secretary and the catalyst for their eloquent speech, paint a heartwarming portrait of people united by love.

All veterans know how to make a joke, be that as it may Adrian Scarborough as the chairman clinging tightly to the book of authority, Paul Bradley as the old timer mixing his medicine, or Babatunde Aléshe like the new guy who stares blankly when he explains that he’s going to social classes.

The undulations are small, but the play is N gauge fun.