Catch The Next Train to Depart

Writer John Challis, who won a Northern Promise Award in 2012 and who is a regular tutor on our Cuckoo Young Writers scheme, was commissioned by Queen’s Hall Arts Centre in Hexham to write a 40-minute play as part of the Pint-Sized Play series. The result is The Next Train to Depart, in which a call centre worker and a would-be poet form an unexpected bond over cold coffee on a railway concourse. A twist on the classic train station love story, The Next Train To Depart is a poetic play that tells the tale of a chance meeting, a platform to nowhere and the baggage we try, in vain, to leave behind. The play is directed by Melanie Rashbrooke, and stars young local actors Adam Donaldson and Alex Tahnee.

The Next Train to Depart will be at the Queen’s Hall on 24 and 28 January, the Washington Arts Centre on 30 January, Newcastle’s Live Theatre on 31 January, Alnwick Playhouse on 8 February and Seaton Delaval on 8 February.