A couple of months ago we told you about The Roundhouse Theatre, a brand new but temporary venue being built on the ground of the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre, a museum which opened to the public just last summer. Starting on May 3rd the theatre will be showing the classic children's story The Railway Children, starring a local cast and a huge imported steam engine! The tent is up now, the steam engine is on a ship on its way across the Atlantic, and the rehearsals are underway. Here's an update on the Roundhouse Theatre.

The tent from the west...

and from the south...

and on the east side, the tracks from the miniature railway have been taken up.

One of the questions asked after the announcement of the theatre was made, was whether the miniature railway would continue to operate this year. Despite the photo above, I can tell you that a new route has been chosen, and that those tracks are being relaid around the temporary theatre to allow the train continue to run. The railway is one of the Toronto Railway Heritage Centre's greatest revenue generators.

Inside, the tent is vast. You could fit an airliner in here, let alone a steam engine. The curve of the roof suggests the sheds of the great railway stations of England and Europe.

Damien Cruden, director of The Railway Children, stands on the railway track that will become the centrepiece of the set. The steam engine will be shunted in and out of the theatre through the opening in the back.

Lobby areas are being created in the spaces on either side of the main tent. Robert Richardson of Marquis Entertainment explains some of the process of building this temporary yet substantial structure to us.

Just to the southwest of the tent is the Railway Heritage Centre's relocated Don Railway Station. Just as it sold tickets for trains in the past, the building will serve as a ticket office again, this time for The Railway Children.

When all is completed at the venue, the show should look like this:

You can find out lots more about The Railway Children at mirvish.com, including all ticketing information of course!

We'll take you back for another look in a few weeks!

This article was originally published in forum thread: Toronto Railway Heritage Centre at the John Street Roundhouse