The Train Driver in London

[Iain Fisher]

Park Theatre present The Train Driver from 14 Jan- 7 Feb 2026.  The director is Jimmy Walters and the play is presented by Proud Haddock and Sarah Lawrie in association with Park Theatre.

"December 2000, Cape Flats, South Africa. A woman steps in front of a train with her baby on the railway tracks between Philippi and Nyanga.

Two months later Roelf, the train driver, has spent weeks searching for the identities of the victims. After a fruitless journey through shanty towns, he encounters an old gravedigger named Simon who helps the desperate man unburden his conscience. Based on a true story, The Train Driver is a soulful exploration of guilt, suffering, racial intolerance and the powerful bonds that grow between strangers".

For the theatre website click here
https://parktheatre.co.uk/
For more on the play click here
https://iainfisher.com/fugard/athol-fugard-plays-keeping-watch.html

[Iain Fisher]

I just saw it, highly recommended.

It is an 80 minute two-hander, Owen Sejake playing the gravedigger who opens and closes the play, and Sean Taylor playing the traindriver who cannot forget the look of a woman with her child just as his train hit her.  He comes to the graveyard where the nameless people are buried looking for the grave, and also for rest from his own nightmares.

Good performances from both as well as Fugard's direction.  More on the site soon.

If you go there and buy the programme (£3) you can also buy the book of the play for £2 (the price on the book is £9.99).

[Iain Fisher]

And you can listen to an interview with Fugard
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vkycn

It is available for a week.

[Iain Fisher]

You can see an interview of Fugard and an except from The Train Driver here
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00w1z1n/The_Review_Show_12_11_2010/

It is only available for a week so you have to be quick.

[Iain Fisher]

Tickets are on sale now

[listings]

The European Premiere of The Train Driver will be at the Hampstead Theatre, London.  It is directed by Athol Fugard.

"Amidst a wasteland of unmarked graves a man seeks revenge and finds redemption. South Africa’s finest playwright brings together two sides of a broken society to find a common humanity in a beautiful and tragic encounter."

It is on from 4 Nov- 4 Dec 2010.  For more details click here
www.iainfisher.com/fugard/fugard-news.html