Bad Girls

It was a great pleasure to be back at the Dolman Theatre Newport, on an invitation from a new musical society “Connect Theatre” to see their production of “Bad Girls”.

Set in a women’s prison, this original popular TV Drama was entirely new to me, but I had been promised gritty reality, rebellious spirit, emotional honesty and irreverent humour; all according to the program synopsis. All I can say is, from the opening number to the final bows, the audience and I were not for one moment  disappointed.

In every show there are those special moments that stand out and stay with you, but I must congratulate the whole cast on their skill at telling a story and giving the audience a clear picture of each individual character.

My congratulations to Director Jordan Archer for bringing out the very best in his cast.

David Burgess as Senior Prison Guard Jim Fenner gave us an excellent example of the social predator in a position of power but with such good humour and excellent choreography it was hard to know if he was naughty or nice. The audience certainly enjoyed his raunchy downfall.

Kelly Chown as Sylvia Hollamby gave an excellent performance. Her characterisation of this power-hungry prison guard was done with great comic timing and control of facial expression and body language.  

Our two leading ladies of the lock up Nikki Wade played by Aimee Taylor and Shell Dockley played by Kesia Elise gave strong performances both visually and vocally.  The relationship between Nikki and the Prison Governor  Helen Stewart, played by Holly LeClare was shown with understanding and compassion through an excellent duet. The downfall of Jim Fenner by the actions of a seduction plan was greatly enjoyed by the audience and well executed by Shell Dockley. Very well-done ladies.

Yvonne Atkins played by Molly Sheppard Burst upon the scene in great style and quite a contrast to the other inmates. An excellent characterisation that culminated in the superb performance of “all banged up” with the two Julies    played by Sarah Beale and Becky Eddolis It was naughty, raunchy and hilariously entertaining. Very well done to you all.

My congratulations to Sarah Beale as  a Jullie on her very emotional rendition of “Sorry”. Not a dry eye in the house.

An outstanding characterisation by Samantha Beale as Crystal Gordon. Every word as clear as her name and beautifully performed. A pleasure to watch.

For all the names I cannot mention, I must assure you all that there was not one person on the stage that did not make a difference. The discipline and attention to detail and the way the whole company worked so smoothly together was a credit to your Director and Choreographer.

I thankyou for the invitation and look forward to your next show.

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