★ ★ ★★
A beautiful love letter to queer culture, friendship, found family & the people who change our lives.
A truly heartfelt, emotional tale of navigating the difficulties of unspoken relationships across wide distances & extended periods, Trains in the Night is simply a beautiful piece of theatre. Combining strong lyrical compositions with a powerful narrative that rings true for many of us, this show takes a quintessential queer experience and seamlessly brings a fresh flair to a relatable & difficult experience, in a tender expression of love.
Writer A. Holben, who also plays Celine, crafts a succinct yet elegant narrative that draws audiences in an instant, combining comedy & tragedy into a seamless expression of self that hooks you from the very first word. Their lyrical compositions remain a light touch on the overall narrative, accentuating rather than encumbering the flow of our character’s dilemmas, & adding a touch of variety at every inflection point with skilful ease. Many of the world’s most renowned playwrights struggle to strike such a brilliant balance, yet Holben seemingly does so naturally.
Their characterisations, opposite Edie Nightingale’s Margot, demonstrate all of the hallmarks of a natural yet strained friendship/relationship, & one that can’t simply be portrayed on stage. Their chemistry, charisma & ability to match each other’s energy & play off it is a clear mark of their relationship off stage, & serves to elevate their performances, to the benefit of the overall narrative.
A. Lennon’s narratorial & musical role completes the performing trio, & the decision to blend narratorial positioning with an in-universe role, bringing Margot’s new play to life, serves the show very well, & helps to ensure Lennon’s role is as integral as Nightingale & Holben’s, a difficult feat in a story about two people.
The minimalism & everyday-ness to the technical aspects, staging, costume design & more allows for Celine & Margot’s relationship to take centre-stage, unrestricted by an overemphasis on additional, superfluous elements. To be able to take such a minimal, blank canvas & project such a refined & detailed world upon it is demonstrative of the care that has gone into this production, & the skill of its many contributors.
Every year, there’s a show that hits home like nothing else for me; one that I know I will be returning to at every opportunity & thinking about for many months after it has closed its doors. And Trains in the Night might possibly be it for 2026.
A show that spoke to me, rung true to me & made me feel a warmth & a comfort that only something truly special can bring, it is an artistic piece of theatre that cannot help but bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. I found myself seeing my own friends, my own found family & my own experiences in the performers in front of me, & that is a testament to how well this show has been crafted.
Having already booked to see this again, I hope that its audiences will continue to grow; because the only thing more heartbreaking than seeing this show, is not seeing it at all.