Sean Hughes goes from stand-up to stationmaster in the stage adaptation of The Railway Children
Comedian Sean Hughes said he is thrilled to be swapping the “lone wolf” life of stand-up to star in the stage adaptation of The Railway Children.
The Perrier Award-winning comic joins the cast next month as Mr Perks the stationmaster in the acclaimed production running in a specially built 1,000-seat theatre complete with real steam train at King’s Cross. “With stand-up you become such a lone wolf, it’s nice to be in a group for a bit,” he said. “And I can do a Yorkshire accent.”
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Neither the Edith Nesbit book nor the film starring Jenny Agutter with Bernard Cribbins as the stationmaster were part of his childhood. “I’m Irish and it’s very English.” But he went to see the play, taking his neighbour’s children, and loved it. “It’s a beautiful piece. I would never do a panto but this feels like a proper story. And there’s nothing nicer than making kids smile.
“I’m looking forward to wearing the clobber. I don’t normally get to wear a suit. And I won’t be swearing like a navvy like I normally do on stage.”
Hughes, 49 - last on stage in 2005 with Sienna Miller and Helen McCrory in Shakespeare’s As You Like It in the West End - would like to do more. But he said: “It’s a question of being asked. I would love to get my teeth into a new play. With acting, you have to rely on other people to give you that work. With stand-up, you just go out and do it.”
Hughes joins the cast on March 17.
