🚆 CHOO CHOO! and the Power of the Platform: Neurodivergent Theatre That Speaks—and Sings—Back
There are few titles that so brilliantly straddle the line between alarming and hilarious as CHOO CHOO! (Or Have You Ever Thought About Pushing Someone Off a Train Platform (‘Cos I Have)). It’s not just a show. It’s a provocation, a confession, and—most crucially—a declaration. And on 8 July, this gleefully surreal and deeply affecting production pulled into The Riverfront in Newport for a one-night-only stop that left many of us quite moved, and more than a little delighted.
Written and performed by the ferociously talented Nye Russell-Thompson and Duncan Hallis, CHOO CHOO! is a madcap kaleidoscope of sketches, inner monologues, trains of thought (literally and figuratively), and moments of startling emotional clarity. It confronts what it means to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder not with pity or melodrama, but with razor-sharp humour and unabashed honesty.
At its heart, the show asks a deceptively simple question: what happens when those with “uncomfortable thoughts” are given a microphone—and a spotlight—and permission to be entirely, unapologetically themselves?
Representation That Rails Against Silence
For years, neurodivergent stories have been either absent or treated with condescension by mainstream media. In this way, CHOO CHOO! does something revolutionary in its simplicity: it lets lived experience steer the engine. As LGBTQIA+ cultural critic and writer Emily Garside has long argued, representation isn’t just about visibility—it’s about control of the narrative. This production does precisely that for the neurodivergent community.
Rather than explaining OCD to the neurotypical world in palatable metaphors, Russell-Thompson and Hallis throw open the doors of perception and invite us to sit with the discomfort, the humour, and the sheer surrealism of intrusive thought. The result? We feel seen. And we like it.
A Creative Team That Keeps the Show on Track
It’s impossible to discuss CHOO CHOO! without praising the creative ensemble behind the magic. Nerida Bradley’s direction (co-written with Tafsila Khan, who also assisted in directing) treads the delicate line between structure and spontaneity—critical when your subject matter is the often-unstructured workings of the mind.
The atmosphere crafted by Lighting Designer Garrin Clarke and Sound Designers Ardal Bicnic, Rosey Brown, and Heledd Evans gives the piece its hallucinatory, fever-dream feel, lending weight and pace without overwhelming the live performances. Danny Muir’s stage management ensures that the controlled chaos remains just that—controlled. And with Ceriann Williams producing, it’s clear the train is in very good hands.
Laughter as Empathy, Not Escape
Perhaps the greatest gift this production offers is permission: permission to laugh at what frightens us, to name the nameless, and to embrace the parts of ourselves we’re told to hide. It’s not therapy, though it may well be therapeutic. It’s not advocacy, though it certainly advocates. It’s theatre as it should be—playful, political, profoundly personal.
CHOO CHOO! is not just a portrait of OCD—it’s a mirror for everyone who's ever felt "too much" for the room (guilty!). It’s proof that when neurodivergent voices tell our own stories, the result is not just resonant—it’s revolutionary.
Now, if only all trains ran with this much emotional punctuality.
