Double sell-out performances for new drama celebrating 150 years of passenger service on the Settle Carlisle Railway

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A woman and two men stood infront of a blue curtain, one man wething a blue and white Halifax Town football scarf
Playwright Joan Barnard, Halifax Support Andy Connell and actor Chris Rose.

More than 300 people enjoyed two performances of the new play celebrating 150 years of passenger services on the Settle Carlisle Line – including the real Halifax Town supporter who is featured in Lives Along the Line.

Commissioned by the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company, Lives Along the Line tells the story of the iconic railway through the stories of the people living along the line, with drama and music. The play has been written and produced by Joan Barnard and performed by The Vagabonds Theatre Group based in Ravenstonedale near Kirkby Stephen.

The premier performance at Appleby Public Hall on Saturday was followed by another sell-out show at Settle Victoria Hall on Sunday.

The play includes the formation of the Friends of the Settle Carlisle Line, and the communities along the line’s fight to keep it open. And the Halifax Town supporter who made a passionate plea to save the line so he could go watch his team play their home games was, unbeknownst to the writer and cast, in the audience. Andy Connell, a director of the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company and a campaigner to save the line in the 1980s, was unaware he was featured in the play. Afterwards, he met with the playwright and producer, Joan Barnard and actor Chris Rose from The Vagabonds Theatre Group, who played him.

Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company’s Community Rail Officer, Karen Morley-Chesworth, said: “The audiences at both performances were delighted by Joan’s new production and the Vagabonds Theatre Group’s production. The feedback from people as they left the shows, on the trains home and on social media has been amazing. Lives Along the Line has been a huge success, and we would like to thank Joan and all the actors for all their hard work, enthusiasm, and support of the Settle Carlisle Line.

“We are grateful to our funders: Northern, Avanti West Coast, TransPennine Express and LNER, without whose support this project would not have been possible.”

And the show continues, as the play has been recorded for a film version which will be available to schools to use as part of their railway-related projects and help pupils explore the railway’s history as part of their National Curriculum studies.