Review of The Girl on the Train at Norwich’s Theatre Royal: Agatha Christie-feel thriller starring Giovanna Fletcher features great performances

The Girl on the Train - Theatre Royal, Norwich

There’s a real Agatha Christie feel to this thriller as you pinpoint the most unlikely person to commit the crime and bingo, it’s them!

Without giving too much away, this is a tense drama which is based on the best-selling book by Paula Hawkins and also the well-known 2016 movie which starred Emily Blunt.

It’s as much a whodunnit as it is an exploration of an abusive, controlling relationship as the central character Rachel, played by I’m A Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher, comes to realise that not everything that has gone wrong in her life is actually her fault.

There are some great performances - Jason Merrells as her dodgy ex-husband, Zena Carswell as the new wife and Natalie Dunne as Megan, the glamorous neighbour who Rachel likes to spy on and basically craves her apparently perfect life.

It’s a sparse, somewhat bleak set which pushes all the attention onto the cast and the action and they pretty much pull it off.

The suspense is maintained throughout as we witness Rachel’s decline into alcoholism and her subsequent slow awakening as she tries to solve the mystery of Megan’s disappearance and discovers that the answer lies very close to home.

If you like psychological thrillers which offer the chance to play detective, this is just the show for you!

The show runs until Saturday. Visit www.theatreroyal.org

Review by Sarah Hardy