Possum Trot Brings Nebraskan Ghost Town to the Tabard
Susan Stanley-Carroll impressed by this tale of a struggling American family
Top Row: Nicklos Salmon - Sarah Berger.
Below: Todd Boyce Neve Francis Dani Arlington. Picture: Bonnie Britain
October 27, 2025
Running between now and the 29 November at the Theatre at the Tabard is the production “Possum Trot” by Kathy Rucker. It vividly explores issues surrounding family farms in the US and the impacts of climate change and farming conglomerates on struggling low-income American farming families.
And aside from these global challenges - are a range of issues - relevant to any a tight knit family such as the family of Maxine living in Possum Trot, Nebraska.
The plot is brought to life when a typhoon strikes and an underground cellar is used as a safe place, a daughter wants to wing her way to a Californian Art College and a romance is kindled from a bygone era.
An ace cast is led by Sarah Berger (Maxine) she oozes warmth and compassion as mother, grandmother, widow, and matriarch of the community. She firmly wraps her disparate family around her and eases their way through a galaxy of issues.
Todd Boyce, late of Coronation Street, plays Duane an empathetic, stoic family friend. Dani Arlington (Pru) and Nicholas Salmon (Jeremiah) are the parents of Bilie (Neve Francis) - she is attached at the hip to a mobile! They all project a strong family trying to assimilate a range of universal challenges.
Reuben Speed’s set design and costumes are appropriate, clean cut and visually appealing.
Scott le Crass, the Director, explores Kathy Rucker’s thought-provoking script and has created is a production that gains momentum as it develops.
Neve Francis and Todd Boyce. Picture: Bonnie Britain
This short production starts slowly and seems to take time before it becomes a hundred percent engaging: it ignites once a cow is on the roof and a bun is in the oven and, then, the audience is engrossed.
As the play concluded, hankies were almost needed, as we watched this dear, struggling family fade away behind the footlights.
Nicolos Salmon. Picture: Bonnie Britain
“Possum Trot”, is the first production to be staged since Sarah and Simon Riley received The London Pub Theatre of the Year 2025 award and it does justice to their thrilling achievement.
Susan Stanley-Carroll
For booking and further details, visit the Tabard Theatre website or contact the box office directly.
Performances will take place at Theatre at the Tabard, 2 Bath Road, W4 1LW.
Tabard Named as London Pub Theatre of the Year
Coronation Street Serial Killer Coming to The Tabard
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |