Popular musical 'The Railway Children', opens at the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society (BMDS) tonight at the Daylesford Theatre.

The play is to benefit from the musical talents of Lisa Maule and the artwork of Che Caines, an 18-year-old student at CedarBridge.

Assisting Mrs. Maule in her efforts is a band of young adults and the music of composer Richard John musical director for 'The Full Monty: The Musical', performed at BMDS last October.

"It is great to get some youngsters into BMDS, as the only other thing that they usually can do is panto," said Mrs. Maule.

The musical will involve members of the popular band Secret Po-Po Matthew Witkowski will play percussion, Michael Mello bass guitar and Matthew Ross the glockenspiel. Fellow Saltus Grammar School student Adlai Teye-Botchway will play the snare drums.

Asked how they all became involved in the musical Matthew said: "We were asked by Mrs. Maule, we are all taught by her at Saltus.

"We have played together in other school plays, as well, and in the pantomime."

The music teacher described the score as "atmospheric" and "very rhythmic:", likening it to the sound of a train.

Both Matthews and Michael are off to university next year.

"I hope to study music at McGill, University of Toronto or the Royal Academy of Music in London,' said Matthew Ross.

"I'm looking to study music production at NYU next year," said Matthew Witkowski.

Added Michael: "I've been accepted at Berklee College of Music and I'll be doing bass guitar."

Che's artwork was most recently seen in a show at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, where he exhibited with his teacher, Manuel Palacio.

The teenager said it took him the better part of a weekend to produce a pastoral setting of an English countryside as a backdrop for 'The Railway Children'.

"Altogether it took me about three days," he said. "This is one of the biggest murals that I have ever done and I thought that it was going to take longer, but it hasn't taken that long."

Inspiration for the mural came from a tiny photo he had of the English countryside.

"I had a little picture of a replica of a hillside and I drew a sketch of it, changed it around a little bit, put different trees and different hills in it.

"I sketched it and then after I drew (chalked) it up on the walls, then I put a base coat on for everything, although there are different colours in different spots.

"And after that I did some of the detail and started painting."

Che said he began painting at a very early age but confesses its architecture he intends to pursue as a career.

"I began painting when I was about three, not professional, but that is when I started.

"It was when I was about eight that I started doing more detail.

"I will never let go of painting, but my main thing is architecture, I like to build."

The Railway Children runs through March 28. Tickets $35, are available at the Daylesford Box office one hour before performances and www.boxoffice.bm.

The show starts at 7.30 p.m.