Photo credit: Andrew Billington
Amanda Whittington’s comedy/drama ‘Ladies’ Day’ makes its way to New Vic theatre, with all the glitz and style of a day at the races. Four work colleagues from a Yorkshire fish-filleting line, Pearl, Jan, Shelly and Linda swap their gloves and apron, for dresses and fascinators as they head off to Royal Ascot.
Originally written in 2005 when Royal Ascot did temporarily move itself to York, the play isn’t a fish-out-of-water storyline (pun fully intended!) but a focus on the personal trials and tribulations of the four main characters. Take away the workday routine and you see their daily struggles in this beautifully written piece. The characters start to see a different side of one another and realise they are not alone with their suppressed thoughts and feelings.
Jan (Tanya-Loretta Dee), a single mother devoted and focussed on her only daughter all these years to ease the pain of a marriage break-up, is imminently facing her offspring flying the nest for University and wondering what her life will be like next. Linda (Jo Patmore) is a youngster who is dealing with a difficult mother-daughter relationship and learning how to shed her meek exterior and grow. Shelley (Annie Kirkman) the brash and boisterous friend in the group who uses that as a mask to hide her struggles and insecurities. Pearl (Kate Wood) dealing with the guilt of a secret (no spoilers) and looking at what her imminent retirement will bring.
The cast brilliantly bring to life, the characters off the page and it is a wonderful collective performance. Tanya-Loretta Dee is a familiar face with a fantastic performance at New Vic last year in Ayckbourn’s ‘Family Album’. She delivers again with aplomb in a wonderful portrayal of Jan, going through all the emotions, hiding her vulnerabilities.
Jo Patmore is great as Linda, really developing and playing the mild-mannered exterior but you can really sense the hurt and frustration inside wanting to make its way out of the character
Annie Kirkman gave a great performance as Shelley, the more brassy her character grew, the more you started to see her true self poking out underneath and the audience was really invested in her.
Kate Wood gave a really solid performance as Pearl and her journey as archetypal stalwart that everyone turns to, taking a journey of her own now her secret is out.
Gareth Cassidy (who you may recognise from ‘Marvellous’ and ‘The Cad’ (at Claybody), plays several characters in the piece and has so many impressive accents as well as playing such diverse roles too!
A shout out again to the team who produce the programme. They are always full of interesting content and a really fascinating set of interviews with the director as well as the author herself, Amanda Whittington. Well worth picking one up!
Despite it being cold and frosty outside, this performance really warms the heart. Its power is in the fact that the audience can see a little bit of themselves in each one of the four main characters as well as some of those we work with in our own offices and factory’s. It’s such an easy watch, with fantastic character acting and a captivating storyline with a thrilling climax. It is sure to raise a smile and beat those frosty winter blues!
It’s on until 25th February and you must give this a watch. Tickets available here: https://www.newvictheatre.org.uk/productions/ladies-day/
