Fenella Goodhart and Rachel Barnett-Jones talk new educational show ‘Transport Explorers’: “There are so many amazing stories and characters, I think I could never run out of plays”

The London Transport Museum goes full steam ahead with its latest theatrical proposal — taking audiences of every age on a ride across history by portraying two centuries of scientific breakthroughs and inventions in only 60 minutes. Guillermo Nazara chats with the venue’s Director of Learning and Participation and the show’s writer to learn more about the piece’s development and its coverage of such an exhilarating train of events.

How did the idea for the show come about?

FG: The show is part of our Transported by Culture initiative – which is about bringing fresh and bold cultural programming to our fantastic central London home to engage new audiences with the Museum, the collection, and its stories. This show is also all about expanding our offer for families – creating another part of the Museum experience that makes for a really fantastic and memorable day out in the holidays. 

Our starting point for the show was, of course, our incredible collection.  We care for one of the most celebrated historic transport collections in the world – people travel from all over to explore the amazing ways the London transport network has been shaping the capital, its culture and society since 1800.  This show allows us to bring these amazing stories of engineering innovation, ingenuity and creativity to life for children through an interactive, STEM-based experience that ignites kids’ curiosity, makes them laugh, and gets them involved in this powerful story.

Why use theatre out of all forms of entertainment to teach about the history of transport?

FG: Theatre is a really effective way to bring the stories and characters associated with London transport to life.  The show is full of fascinating characters from the capital’s transport history, and a performance approach really enables us to bring these people’s stories to the fore.  It also gets people thinking about how actually creating and operating an iconic transport network isn’t all plain sailing. As we follow our two trainee engineers in their race to earn their badges, they help us understand that over the past 200 years and into the future of transport in London, it’s about trying things out, finding solutions to problems, making mistakes and learning from them – their enthusiasm, team work,and curiosity are really infectious.

What has the show’s development process been like?

RBJ: The show’s development process has been really joyful. As a writer, I always love an excuse to get out and about. And so, I was delighted to be able to take a trip to the museum and really immerse myself in all the stories that are on display there – it’s a brilliant museum. In my period of initial research, I took my field-trip findings and then really delved deep into the amazing online archives on the museum’s website to see what else I could discover. A first draft of the script came together pretty easily because there was just so much amazing source material to work from. Working with the production team and the museum team to craft a script which answers the brief has been intense and very rewarding – the museum’s feedback in particular has been incredibly useful. They are so knowledgeable both about their content and also their audiences, so it has made the process feel very smooth. Throughout the writing process the production team has been so supportive and positive which has really helped me to deliver each new draft with confidence. 

How challenging has it been to condense centuries of history into only one hour?

RBJ: It has been REALLY challenging to condense the history (and present and future) into just one hour – there are so many amazing stories and characters in the history of London’s transport, I think I could never run out of plays to write about them. There’s more on the ‘cutting room floor’ for this play than there has been in most of my previous projects, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I get to write more for these characters at some point soon. Alternatively, I may just have to take lots of journeys through London with my family and ‘entertain’ them with all the stories that didn’t make it to the final version of the play!

What about the challenges of keeping such a young audience engaged for one whole hour?

RBJ: This is one of my passions, as I believe firmly that the right structure to a play (and understanding a little about how young people engage with narrative and story, and their natural attention spans) is key to keeping them engaged – it’s really about making a good enough piece of theatre!! I was fortunate enough, early in my career, to be taught by some of the best makers of Theatre for Young Audience and I have carried their lessons with me. I’ve also learnt by making lots of shows for this age group and observing the audience, noticing when they get restless and then making sure that my plays have really exciting things happening at key moments in the structure to hold the whole audiences’ interest for the whole show.  

What, would you say, makes this piece unique in comparison to other educational shows?

RBJ: This piece is unique in a few key ways. Firstly, the museum itself offers such a rich archive of information; it’s not just a general history or science lesson, but a deep dive into the fascinating world of London’s transport and engineers, which is inherently dynamic and visually interesting. The sheer amount of authentic historical material available has allowed us to craft a narrative that feels genuinely rooted in real stories and real people. Secondly, it’s a marriage of history and science (and the history of science) using stories and ideas which are not necessarily very well-known. It’s also hands-on and dynamic with lots of opportunities for joining in so that hopefully by the end of the show the audience will go away understanding more than they did at the start of the show. 

The show is primarily aimed at children. However, what’s in store for the grownups?

RBJ: It’s got LOTS for the grownups to enjoy, as well as for children of all ages. There are lots of funny bits (hopefully) and also information and stories which the grownups will probably not have heard before. Also, and speaking as a parent as well as a theatre-maker, there’s always the joy of watching your children actively engaged and learning. The show is designed to spark conversations and curiosity, offering a shared experience that families can discuss long after they’ve left the museum. It’s an opportunity for adults to rediscover the wonder of London’s transport heritage through the eyes of a child, and perhaps even discover some new things for themselves too.

How necessary do you think it is to bring entertainment into education?

FG: Our starting point for this show was to create a really fun, memorable experience for families – something that they can go home and talk about. We hope that it ignites an interest in the fascinating and evolving story of the transport network in London.  As an educational and heritage charity, our approach to creating programmes and experiences for all audiences is to find the connection between people’s day to day lives and the powerful story of London transport.  Hopefully everyone can find something in this show that feels familiar. From there, as with all our programmes, we want to spark new ideas and connections by fostering imagination, experimentation and play.  Lots of our family visitors tell us that they want a fun day out that is also an opportunity to learn together – and this show does just that.

Are there any plans of bringing some other shows to the London Transport Museum?

FG: Absolutely.  This show follows hot on the heels of our first production, The Truth About Harry Beck, exploring the life of the designer of the iconic London Underground map which had a hugely successful four month run last year.  It’s great to have a family show in the theatre now and we’re exploring what might come next – we’re certainly not short of stories to share.

Why come see Transport Explorers?

RBJ: It’s fun, funny, informative, educational, scientific, historical, and set in one of the best museums in London.

Transport Explorers plays at London’s Transport Museum until 1 June. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara