OPERA HOUSE THEATRE COMPANY & TWINKLE DOON
presents
The Varsity Line
The Red Box at Thalian Hall
May 1-9 · 2026
FRI-SAT 7:30 PM · SAT-SUN 3:00 PM
A one act play in three scenes.
Written by Mack Webb
Directed by Bo Webb
The Varsity Line was an English train route that ran between Oxford and Cambridge for many years. In 1938, a new articulated three-carriage diesel railcar was introduced. During its first few trips, the train was rarely used because new things are frightening. This play is set during one of those early trips. A varied cast of characters - siblings returning from a funeral, an aging lecturer, railway employees, and two famous detectives - learn that there is a safe full of money on the train, along with at least one train robber. This play is a screwball comedy farce in the spirit of “It Happened One Night,” or perhaps “Airplane!” on the Orient Express. Each scene of this play, though presented consecutively, takes place in different train cars at the same time, so certain events, like an announcement from the conductor for example, happen across scenes.
