The play arriving shortly at platform one...
IT’S full steam ahead for the cast of a play as they get set to perform at Stockport train station.
The debut performance of The Suitcase, The Beggar and The Wind will take place in and around the waiting room at Grand Central Way, in central Stockport.
Among those involved is Geoff Baker, a customer services adviser at the station for Virgin Trains, who is the producer and also appears in the production.
The play - which has a cast of five - is described as being about dreams and love and will make use of the train station’s facilities, including some long forgotten ones.
Geoff said: “Working with a small cast of international people gives a dynamic, edgy feel to the production.
“Mixed with the unusual setting of a railway means it has the makings of something very special. It is a site specific show so we will get to use some of the announcements and the actual waiting room.
“We will also move into a side room that hasn’t been used in a long, long time. We are really looking forward to it, we will move round the audience quite a lot.”
The hour-long play is set at the turn of the 20th century, a period that is thought of as the golden age for railways. It will be performed by Didsburybased Gare Du Nord Theatre Group, which Geoff has been a member of for six years.
He plays a passer by waiting for a train and the four other actors are Melanie Bettencourt, Michael Johnson, Nick Midford and Saara Kavanagh. Geoff, 39, from Levenshulme, has performed at Stockport station before, doing a stand up routine at Stockfest, which he organised.
But this is the first time it has hosted a play in between arriving and departing trains.
Geoff added: “The drawback will be that we can’t stop the railways so it will be acting while there are real announcements and trains going back and forward.
“But being at a station rather than on stage will make it feel pretty real.”
All proceeds from the play - which is part of the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival - will be donated to Rethink, a charity that tackles mental health issues. Shows are on July 7 and 8 at 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Tickets are £5 (£3.50 concessions), visit www.greatermanchesterfringe.co.uk.