She may be best known for her part in the hit BBC television legal drama series Judge John Deed, but British actress Louisa Clein is attracting even greater acclaim for her latest role.
Miss Clein is currently appearing in the much-talked-about production The Railway Children, staged on the former Eurostar platform at Waterloo Station, and the Dorset-born actress is receiving rave reviews.
Adapted from the children's book by Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children tells the story of three children whose lives change dramatically when their father is mysteriously taken away for questioning. They move from London to a cottage in rural Yorkshire with their mother where they befriend the local railway porter and embark on a journey of discovery, friendship and adventure.
Miss Clein plays Phyllis, the youngest of the three children. She tells People: "Phyllis gets all the best lines. As a young sibling, there is the feeling that the older ones will always fight your battles so you can be a bit frivolous, and as a youngest sibling myself, I feel a bit like that in my own life as well. Phyllis just wants everyone to be happy and for everything to be alright."
Miss Clein, whose sister is award-winning cellist Natalie Clein, recently toured as Sybil in Lord Arthur Savile's Crime starring Lee Mead, and in 2004 played the role of Zelda Kay in Island At War.
She says: "The Railway Children is definitely the most unusual thing I have done. It is site-specific and as we are not in a proper theatre there are no mod-cons. You can hear the trains going by - and the announcements." The production, which comprises nine shows a week, will be running until at least September.
Then what for Miss Clein? She is not sure - but whatever she does, she will have to make some time to plan her wedding. She is engaged to barrister Jeremy Brier, and they are to marry next year.
