Can’t drive, won’t drive, refuse to drive. I’ve a whole story about a wing mirror and a driving instructor that was part tutor part devil-man egomaniac in charge of a set of dual controls. But that’s not for now.

What I’m saying is that as a result, I am the girl on the train/tram/bus. And with a penchant for people watching and bearing witness to low-level drama on the move.

More of a girl on the tram than anything, I have a fascination for what’s going on inside the tram – see (now practically vintage) The Tram Tribes – a Manchester subculture as well as the blurry scenes (blurry on account of my sleepy demeanour rather than speedy passage) through the window outside.

Rachel Watson longs for a different life.Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated.

The title is probably familiar. Based on Paula Hawkins’ best selling novel (and the adaptation of the film under the same title), this is a thriller with a mystery at its centre and a tale of Rachel’s (Giovanna Fletcher) blind love and devotion to others (in this case, even strangers) with a clear lack of love and faith for her own sense of self.

It’s a story of loss, yearning and mourning for a life felt missing in action, and dreams dashed by seemingly fate and circumstance.

Fletcher has a strong command of the stage, as her character plays, grapples, spars with, confronts and challenges characters including her ‘living the middle-class organic chicken with cous-cous and new baby dream’ ex-husband Tom (Jason Merrells) and new-wife Anna (Zena Carswell), Scott (Samuel Collings), the other half of the other ‘perfect couple’ in her life (and husband of the missing and much coveted by seemingly everyone, Megan (Natalie Dunne), the suave but earnest therapist, Kamal Abdic (Daniel Burke) and the dour detective, DI Gaskill (Paul McEwan) who, despite providing an entertaining turn each time he appears, almost belongs in a different play (more on that later…).

Making memories? This is a tale with more gas-lighting than a live demonstration at a Calor convention (no I don’t know what that would look like or what that would be. But I’ve said it now).

And the often sparse aesthetics of this production are as dark as its themes, with low-lighting, oppressive and often silhouetted imagery projected through the sometimes symbolic, sometimes literal window, the ever present backdrop, they make for a stylish setting.

It’s often a source of, well sorcery, the world of the set, sound, lighting and in this case video design. How will the concept running through this story be authentically presented and conveyed to its audience via the stage?

If we’re to compare with another member of the ‘locomotive-centric thriller’ genre, the recent production of Murder on the Orient Express seen here at the Lowry, was via the beautifully crafted cross-section of train carriages, where the audience bore witness to the criminal carryings on from quite a literal and traditional view-point.

For a psychological thriller where nothing is ever quite what it seems, something more abstract is required and for me this is achieved valiantly in this production. Almost to the point of wishing it was played out in a much more intimate setting (not taking away from Lowry theatre – there’s always the smaller Quays stage within and the infinitely more intimate Aldridge Studio. Not realistic for a production of this size, but testament to my commitment to the story and a wish to bear closer witness to the human stories and melodrama playing out before me.

Now, believe it or not, I have read the book, I have seen the film – albeit many years ago. And so I can’t recall whether this was a quality specific to the stage production, or a thread running through all mediums, but there were times where juxtaposed with notes of (spoiler) murder, infidelity, infertility, addiction, divorce and child loss, we had comedic one-liners (albeit delivered with great timing), which seemed to spring from nowhere and jar with the atmosphere carefully crafted.

Don’t get me wrong, a devotee to dark humour, this wasn’t it and was something much more akin to another genre with its witty throwaways and physical humour. But that didn’t manage to wholly detract from the horrifying conclusion to the story as the aforementioned staging brought you more into the action than anticipated.

Uncomfortable, but appreciated. A little like the series of mini melodramas I’m oh so addicted to from my seat as (a) girl on a Manchester tram.

For more details and tickets to see The Girl on the Train at Lowry theatre, visit https://thelowry.com/whats-on/143//the-girl-on-the-train. On until, and including, Saturday 15 February.