FIFTY years since the closure of Bude railway station was marked by the talented youngsters of Bude Youth Theatre with their brilliant production last week.

Performances of ‘The Last Train to Bude…?’ were held at Budehaven Community School from Wednesday, March 16 to Saturday, March 19.

The production started in 2016, with humourous travel news played out on the local radio, stating long delays to the South West, with motorists advised to find alternative routes — highlighting the lack of railway transport.

The audience then followed student Sophie Drover, who is studying for a degree in Sustainable Transport. She visits her grandparents on Bulleid Way, Bude, to carry out some research on the history of Bude Railway.

Through her research, Sophie and the audience are transported to the past, with the actors portraying the busyness and liveliness of the railway in those times, and clever use of smoke reflecting the age of steam.

The performers acted out public meetings from the mid to late 1800s discussing the railway, and the opening day of Bude Railway Station in August 1898, the production supported by excellent original music by Kath Morrison, performed by talented musicians under the leadership of musical director Thomas Marples — only 15-years-old, and choreographed by Clare Collingham.

The singing from the whole youth theatre was fantastic, and special mention must go to the talent of the soloists: Bobbo Peerce, Josie Miller, Adam Diffey, Kai James and Mark Rosser, who sang wonderfully and with great confidence to loud applause.

The set of the production consisted primarily of wooden planks cleverly used by the youngsters, with audience members remarking: “It’s amazing what kids can do with a few planks of wood!”

We followed the stories of evacuees who were taken to Bude during the war, and after the interval followed the story of the railway after the war, the audience told the station became even busier during this period — even elephants were brought down by train for the circus.

Clever depictions of Dr Beeching, who became a household name in the 1960s after his report led thousands of miles of railway route cuts, as a puppet and a ventriloquist dummy, drew great laughter from the audience.

The performance followed the story of Bude Railway right through to its closure in 1966, and it was no surprise when writer and director Richard Wolfenden-Brown said 100% of people who had filled in ‘railway referendum’ forms given to audience members said they would like to see the railway line to Bude re-opened.

Mr Wolfenden-Brown said after the last performance: “We started with a blank piece of paper in September and everybody has contributed so much to get to this point.”

Before the production, the youth theatre interviewed Trevor Knight, Len Tozer, Andy Walter, Adrian Abbott and Ralph Daniel to learn about their memories of the railway, which inspired the scenes and songs.

The youth theatre also used some archived youth theatre interviews from 2001 with Bryan Dudley Stamp, Joyce Jordell, Harvey Kendall and Jean Osbourne.

Mr Wolfenden-Brown said the youngsters had spent 13 hours last week on stage during the show week, and expressed thanks to everyone involved with the successful production.

Proceeds from the refreshments and rafle will be donated to the Friends of Bude Sea Pool, and on the last night, to Children’s Hospice South West.

Bude Youth Theatre has created 20 productions over the past 17 years. It is open to all young people aged nine to 18, who can demonstrate the necessary enthusiasm and commitment that is essential for creating theatre as part of a group.

New members are welcome for a play to be performed next year. Rehearsals run from late September to March 2017. Call 01288 356537 for further information or email [email protected]