Kindertransport, written in 1995 by playwright Diane Samuels, is a play with two strands. First there is Helga in 1930s Germany, a Jewish mother who decides to send her nine-year-old daughter Eva to England on the train, away from the impending danger of the Nazi regime. Then there is the England of the 1980s, where a fussy mother and her petulant grown-up daughter discuss practicalities as she cuts the ties of childhood to leave the family home. As the play goes on, it becomes more clear how these stories are connected, despite years of distance between them.

In this production, the distinction between the two points in history was well handled, with efficient and effective lighting and set design to demarcate them. The set, made up of cardboard boxes, paper and suitcases, was simple in a clever way and the costumes were accurate and apt across the board. The actors moved smoothly from one time period to the next, showcasing their strong bond as a cast through a well-rehearsed delivery.

The acting was in general very committed, and Polly Mountain as English foster mother Lil stood out, for her emotional realism. Her lines were delivered with real empathy and intelligence. Thomas Perry as The Ratcatcher, a Nazi soldier and an English postman also shone, showing flexibility and versatility in his multi-roling. Some of the other actors tended towards melodrama in their delivery, which on occasion disrupted the arc of the storyline and got a bit tiring by the end of the piece.

This is a play with a very interesting story at its core, and here it was presented with care and assurance by Troika Theatre.

Madeleine Herbert's already given a perceptive review of Kindertransport which I'd endorse. The phenomenon of the kindertransport is one of which succeeding generations should be aware. 10,000 children were sent into Britain alone, not all of them Jewish, nor were a majority of the British people Jewish who volunteered to receive and bring them up. This is not only a Holocaust story but a shining example of people who helped strangers from no motive of gain. Many receiving families put up a bond of £50 (c. £2,200 in today's money) to cover the transport of the youngsters, and other expenses. Then all post-arrival living costs were born by the receiving families and in some cases by charity subsidies; no government money was forthcoming.

The structure of the drama doubly cross-cuts firstly between the scenes in 1939 Germany and England, and in England a generation later, and secondly between the six characters. They remain mutely on stage or participate in the action at different periods of their lives. This structure is cleverly conceived by playwright Diane Samuels and well-executed by director Nathan Peter Grassi who kept control of the time and nation-frames so the audience could follow the action without strain. Craig Smith's set of piled up crates, boxes and cases was flexible, practical and even quite attractive. Something very similar was employed for the set of Around the World in 80 Days at the Oxford Playhouse – coincidence, I'm sure.

I especially liked the performance of Polly Mountain as Lil, a host mother to Eva, newly arrived in Manchester by kinder train, and then as grandmother. She varied her tone adroitly within certain self-imposed limits – keeping her delivery style appropriate to the dialogue. And here, in my view, lies the problem with the play. One must assume from its very title that it's attempting to represent in its way the wider experience of the kindertransport programme. This is also indicated by the presence of a 'Ratcatcher' (referencing the Pied Piper of Hamelin) who on two or three occasions looms large in cloak and hood in a dimly-lit corner. This metaphor is rather at odds, though, with the script which remains persistently grooved in the single, domestic situation.

This script does not, either in its written words nor in its focus, really contain the resonance necessary to bear the metaphorical weight asked of it. This is emphasized when we hear the resonant, famous radio broadcast by Richard Dimbleby on 15^th April 1945 from Bergen-Belsen Death Camp. The domestic situation is presented as a domestic drama of family authority, responsibility and identity – squabbling mother and rebellious daughter, grandmother caught in the crossfire etc - whereas the kindertransport experience was one of forced separation, heartbreak and tragedy on a huge scale.

It may be that the director and actors were aware of this problem because, just as Madeleine Herbert has indicated, they - Ms Mountain excluded - rather over-egged the low-key pudding of the script in their playing as though they were trying to stretch artificially the emotional resonance of what they were saying. The net result was rather too much emoting. The play was also a little too long. A number of people around me were looking at their watches half an hour before the end. The running time was advertised as 1 hour 20 minutes whereas (at least on Saturday) it was 1 hour 50 mins with no interval.

This was a decent stab at a topic drenched in tragedy but which contains an element of hope.