“The Last Train To Madeline is an excellent example why we need theatre for young people. The robust talent of these actors, and indeed every member of this production team, showcases Australian talent and leaves us with hope for our thespian future.”
Alethea Mouhtouris
4 Stars
Venue : Popsy Theatre, Australian Theatre for Young People
Until 28 March
Sydney
Love found. Love lost. Chasing dreams. Fearing to follow one’s potential. These are the core elements making up The Last Train To Madeline.
It’s performed in the tiny black-box Popsy Theatre which, with audience seating capacity of 55, invites an intimacy between actors and audience. Written by Callum Mackay, the play is inspired by his 2016 one-night reunion with an absent friend and the lasting emotions this experience evoked.
Last Train is about Maddy and Luke, who we meet aged 10, 17, and 23. Three sets of actors play Maddy and Luke at each milestone. We watch the relationship evolve through its formation, its blossoming, to its inevitable conclusion. Ten-year-old Maddy (Pia Monti) is a neglected child with an absent musician father, struggling to find her place in the world, boldly claiming her father is Bruce Springsteen. As her counterweight, Luke (Trix Bowditch) is a calming presence, who is drawn to Maddy’s spark and light. They meet with her mucking about near the train tracks and him escaping a much-hated cricket game.
Monti portrays little Maddy as feisty and cheeky; a 10-year-old who, despite her fierceness and mouthiness, doesn’t quite realise how lost she is. It’s a performance of strength and vulnerability in equal measure. Monti absorbs Maddy and then pushes her out with a bold and polished technique which is superb for her age. Bowditch matches her with a strong performance as yin to her yang, beautifully balancing Monti’s fire. I will say there is a ‘playing doctors’ scene between the two youngsters that is uncomfortable and, in my opinion, unnecessary.
As a teen, Maddy (Rylea Eilis) is explosive and chaotic – the quintessential rock kid who acts out. She cannot wait to escape the regional town of Wangaratta with Luke (Finn Middleton). Eilis plays Maddy as grittier and with a steely focus on getting out of Wangaratta, while Middleton portrays Luke as a puppy dog, solely focused on Maddy – it’s a very touching approach. Again, it’s a lovely balance between Eilis and Middleton, hard and soft, adored and adoring.
In meeting the 23-year-old iterations of Maddy and Luke, it turns out the two have been separated and out of contact for some years. Maddy (Tyallah Bullock) left town and tracked down her lost father while Luke (Leon Walshe) stayed in Wangaratta, mourned his lost love, and eventually moved on, albeit in a more ‘traditional’ way. Bullock portrays Maddy as weighted with a terrible sadness for all she has lost, but with a determination to continue her journey. Walshe’s performance is heartbreaking; his “I wish I never…” speech reaches spaces in us long forgotten.
Last Train is the launching production for the ATYP’s 2026 program. It’s explosive and causes us to reflect on relationships formed and lost over the years. It will carry more weight for older audience members who have lived these experiences.
The casting is inspired and director Hayden Tonazzi has drawn out consistent performances for all versions of Maddy and Luke – they are clearly recognisable across each age set which is not an easy feat. The respective duo’s chemistries and dynamics are pitch perfect, and fully representative of who not only these characters, but perhaps all of us, are at these different stages of our formative years.
Essential to this production is the set. It’s stark and it’s harsh – train tracks, dirt, gaping holes in brickwork – but softened with ivy growing over the walls. It mirrors the relationship between Maddy and Luke. Ultimately, the ivy will aways be embedded in the rock.
The Last Train To Madeline is an excellent example why we need theatre for young people. The robust talent of these actors, and indeed every member of this production team, showcases Australian talent and leaves us with hope for our thespian future.
Photography: Phil Erbacher
Alethea Mouhtouris, Theatre Now
