Girl On The West Yorkshire Train...

PauLa HaWKINs’s best-selling thriller The Girl On The Train has been adapted for the stage. The good news is that it’s not relocating to america, like the less than marvellous film version that starred emily Blunt. ‘That wasn’t to our taste,’ said playwright Rachel Wagstaff, who’s adapting the book with Duncan abel, with ms Hawkins’ blessing. ‘It’s about a woman in Britain today, living a life that so many of us lead,’ she added.

The novel was seen from the point of view of three women: one of whom (Rachel) thinks she has witnessed a murder. The police don’t believe her, because she’s perceived to be a bit of a lush.

ms Wagstaff told me she and abel are telling the story through the eyes of Rachel and will begin their version after megan (another of the three main characters) has disappeared.

The play will have its world premiere at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, with previews starting on may 12. I asked if it would be set in Leeds and ms Wagstaff observed that the story takes place in a fictional commuter town ‘so it could be anywhere in Britain’.

The lead parts have not yet been cast.