Skip to content

Casting call for The Railway Children ensemble

Johan Persson A steam train in the background, with a girl in the foreground holding a red flag. The train is in a theatre, with the audience sitting on either side of the track.Johan Persson
Audience members will board a real steam train as part of the performance

The organisers of Bradford's City of Culture year are searching for children aged eight to 15 to take part in a new production of The Railway Children.

The stage adaptation of the children's classic will be set on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway at Oxenhope, where the 1970 film was shot.

The play, which will take place between 16 July and 7 September, will be a co-production between the York Theatre Royal and Bradford 2025.

The casting call said no prior acting experience was needed to join a community ensemble cast supporting the production, "just confidence, enthusiasm, and a love for performing".

Getty Images A black and white photo of actors Sally Thomsett and Jenny Agutter meeting Bernard Cribbins in a scene from the film The Railway Children. All three are crouched down on a railway station platform next to a dog. Getty Images
The Railway Children was first shown on the screen in 1970

Originally a children's novel by Edith Nesbit published in 1906, The Railway Children tells the story of three children whose lives change dramatically after they move from a comfortable townhouse to a small Yorkshire cottage near a railway line.

A Bradford 2025 spokesperson said the show would begin when audience members board a steam train at Keighley Station, then travel the full length of the Worth Valley Railway.

"When you reach the end of the line at Oxenhope, you'll find a purpose-built auditorium within the station's Engine Shed – and a new version of the production, which tells the story of three children forced to move from London to Yorkshire after their father is falsely imprisoned."

Organisers are seeking 30 young people for the ensemble.

Anyone interested can apply for an audition on the Bradford 2025 website by 10am on 17 March.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

More on this story