“The Girl on the Train” has already sold over 15 million copies and been adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt. Broadway World reports that Paula Hawkins’ literary sensation is now heading to another medium — the stage.
Written by Rachel Wagstaff (“Flowers for Mrs. Harris”) and Duncan Abel (“When I Lost You”), the play is set to run at Leeds’ West Yorkshire Playhouse beginning May 12. Joe Murphy (“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”) will direct.
Originally published in 2015, the psychological thriller centers on Rachel, an alcoholic whose life is in shambles. She spends her weekday commute looking out the train windows into her old neighborhood, where her ex now lives with his new wife and baby. She is fixated on their neighbors, who she perceives as the perfect couple. When one half of the couple goes missing, Rachel becomes obsessed with her disappearance, and it’s not long before she becomes a suspect in the crime.
Rachel knows she witnessed something that will help solve the mystery, but her lapses in memory make it impossible for her to make sense of what’s happened.
“I’d been interested in writing about somebody who had memory loss as a result of drink for a long time,” Hawkins has said. “I read a book about blackouts and the extraordinary things people do [when they have them]… I know from speaking to people that it is a very strange thing. It fundamentally changes your sense of guilt and responsibility if you cannot remember doing something,” she explained. “Even if people tell you that you did it, if you can’t actually remember you don’t feel as responsible, or in some cases you feel responsible for things that weren’t your fault. I thought it was an interesting thing to play with.”
“The Girl on the Train” has been published into more than 40 languages. The film adaptation was released last year and grossed more than $173 million worldwide.
