The Origins of Starlight Express

In March 1974, Andrew Lloyd Webber, motivated by the momentum of Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, approached Reverend W Awdry, the author of his childhood favourite, Thomas the Tank Engine, to explore adapting the railway series into an animated television show. Was Andrew responsible for the beloved BBC TV series Thomas and Friends? Not exactly, but his love of those books certainly set the wheels in motion for him embarking on his own story about steam engines and the “age of glamorous railway travel” they represented.

After being blown away by hearing American soul-singer Earl Jordan’s ability to emulate the sound of a steam whistle, Andrew collaborated with Peter Reeves on a novelty pop song called Engine of Love in 1977. Perhaps the first true stop on the journey of the Starlight Express this track further fueled his interest in writing a show about steam engines (the song is still occasionally performed in selected productions today!)

Whilst creating CATS in 1981 with lyricist Richard Stilgoe, Andrew played him the music for his alternative version of the tale of Cinderella, featuring trains... Inspired by his love for locomotives and the excitement he had witnessed on his children’s faces at the sight of a steam engine. The pair began to rework the fairytale into something even more magical.

Andrew’s Cinderella story centered around Rusty, an underdog steam engine, two ‘ugly sisters’, a diesel and electric engine and, of course, Rusty’s fairy godmother: The Starlight Express. Although initially intended to be an animated musical -film, Andrew and Richard Stilgoe realised their idea “had legs (or, rather, wheels)” as a full-blown stage show.

The first of many iterations of Starlight Express was performed at the 8th Sydmonton Festival in 1982, with stars including Bonnie Langford and Elaine Page performed the musical’s many earworms, including the spectacular title track, to an audience that included Cats director Trevor Nunn. Nunn and designer John Napier recognised the potential for the show to push the boundaries of traditional musical theatre, by offering a level of spectacle and magic never seen before. Now all that was needed was a way to bring steam engines to the stage...

The answer? Roller skates. The idea came to Andrew and Trevor whilst on a walk in Central Park, New York. The two witnessed the speed, agility and skills of the rollerskaters and knew that this would be the ideal way to bring the motion of trains to life.  

Trevor Nunn jumped on board as director, followed by Arlene Phillips as choreographer who was ready for the challenge that this innovative style of dance would bring. Seven months pregnant, she “hastily learned to skate” herself, before teaching a diverse cast of traditional musical theatre performers, street dancers and skaters with little to no theatre experience, to become a quadruple-threat company!

Starlight’s creative team shared the vision of creating a fun, immersive theatrical experience that was the first of its kind. This was a task like no other: an all-singing, all-skating extravaganza with a high-tech set to match. After settling on the New Victoria (now Apollo) Theatre as their racecourse, John Napier faced the challenge of creating a life size train set, for the actors to race around at up to 30mph, totally immersing the audience in the race.

After just two months of rehearsals, the London production and world premiere of Starlight Express opened on 27 March 1984 starring Stephanie Lawrence as Pearl, Ray Shell as Rusty and Lon Satton as Poppa McCoy. The show’s innovation and skill was immediately recognised by the Oliviers that year, when it was nominated in two categories, including Best New Musical.

This was only the beginning for Starlight Express. ALW’s musical, which continues to be invented and reinvented for audiences and stages across the globe to this day.

Starlight Express has been playing in a purpose-built theatre in Bochum, Germany, for over 40 years, reaching a milestone of over 19,000,000 visitors in 2025. Most recently, a highly anticipated new version, directed by Luke Sheppard, opened in London last summer, at the specially designed Starlight Auditorium at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre.

This marks a full circle moment for many of those who remembered experiencing the original Starlight Express in London and are now able to share this experience with their children.  

In February 2025 the show took an 7 incredible wins at the WhatsOnStage Awards including, Best Musical Revival, Best Professional Debut for Jeevan Braich in the role of Rusty, as well as creative awards for Costume Design, Lighting Design, Set Design, Video Design and Wigs, Hair & Makeup Design. A huge achievement.

It is clear no one is ready for this train journey to end.