one4review | On 21, Aug 2026

One of the most famous British crimes of all time, the Great Train Robbery in 1963 set the nation’s imagination ablaze, with both criminals and the police hunting them becoming larger-than-life figures and household names. With a whopping £2.6 million stolen (roughly £50 million in 2026 money), what started as a perfect plan soon leads to a nationwide manhunt, escapes, betrayals and, eventually, a lot of arrests.

The true story of the crime is almost too over the top to be real and thus makes great fodder for adaptation, and, with a swinging 60’s soundtrack KCS Theatre Co’s production of The Great Train Robbery is a smashing success.

The first thing you might notice about this production is its slickness. The large cast (12 overall) moves together as a well-oiled machine, with perfect choreography, moving from scene to scene, moment to moment, constantly rearranging the set made of cardboard file boxes to make everything from a desk to a wall to a train to a staircase. The writing is equally polished, with quick and clever dialogue with never an unnecessary word and every character feeling distinct. This is possibly down to the sheer amount of work that’s gone into the script with a total of 14 of the student body listed as contributing. Every part of the production feels polished to a mirror finish and it makes for a great watch and it’s honestly remarkable how much action is fitted into a single hour.

The young cast bring terrific energy to their performances, especially notable in the moments of action or the montages which, again, are incredibly well choreographed. There is perhaps a slight lack of depth to a bit of the performance especially with, let’s face it, very posh public school students from London attempting to drop their h’s and sound like cockney gangsters but it’s not a major issue.

Overall it’s genuinely an impressive performance of a larger than life story which puts you in mind of all the best 60s capers and thrillers that was made only more impressive by the youth of the performers of whom I think we can all expect great things.

****
Reviewed by Tom

13:40

10th-16th

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