Ladies Day

I felt like this was the first time I had seen the play "Ladies Day" written by Amanda Whittington although I have seen it several times before and I have really enjoyed them all. However, this outstanding production performed by Chorley Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (CADOS) and directed by Alison Vardy delivered a very enjoyable, feel-good comedy drama production with some innovative ideas.

The story is centred around four vastly different characters Shelley, Linda, Jan and Pearl, fish factory workers and friends living and working in Hull in the year 2005. On meeting the ladies, we find out that Pearl is leaving the factory to spend more time with her husband but is adamant she is not retiring. After persuasion from her friends, she admits she would like to go to Ladies Day at Royal Ascot to celebrate which in 2005 had relocated to York as the Ascot racecourse was undergoing a refurbishment. So, the four of them take the day off work, don their best clothes, and set off for the races. As the day progresses, we see the ladies enjoying the experience, but we are also party to, stories of broken relationships, secret confessions, concealed heartache, and thwarted ambitions, however we also see that there is a lasting forgiving and supportive loving friendship between all four women. This is a very female led play supported by two male actors playing several cameo roles and I am very happy to say in this production all the cast worked together as one team and complimented each other exceptionally well, the friendship between the four main female leads was truly believable which is very important in this type of production as this is an ensemble piece and a good performance from each actor is central to the success of the production so it would be very remiss of me to pick out just one person for special mention. However, the incredibly talented cast gave superb performances in their hugely different roles producing some wonderful individual memorable characters, with particularly good comic timing and lovely expressive and moving acting when required. The cast of ladies included Tess Lucas as Peal who everyone believes is happily married but confesses to Jan that she has a lover who is a bookie, unfortunately, he did not turn up for their last meeting and, she has come to Ladies Day to find him. Steph Threlfall was Shelly a would-be star, who does not miss any opportunity to ambush the TV cameras, but the audience and her friends gradually see she is a great deal more vulnerable than we first thought. Alison Griffiths -Barnes was devoted single mother Jan, who’s life centres around her daughter Clare. She has sacrificed a great deal and is struggling with the fact that Clare wants to leave home and go to university. Then we have Rebecca Moran as Linda who is shy and kind-hearted but she can be taken advantage of especially by her mother, so her friends try to protect her. She has an all-consuming passion for Tony Christie, and suggest they choose horses with names like his song titles for the six-horse accumulator which is important to the plot at the end of the play. The two male actors held their own and they both produced some excellent vastly different characters for each of the roles they played, it never crossed my mind while watching the play that I had seen the same actor playing a different role a few minutes prior. They were Steven Catterall who played Jim McCormick a TV racing pundit, Joe the Fish Factory Supervisor and Barry, Pearl's secret lover. Tom Hilton also produced three different characterisations as Patrick an Irish jockey who meets Linda, which is the start of a promising relationship, he also plays Kevin a drunken gambler and Fred a ticket tout. All dialogue was clear from each of the cast and could be heard meaning the plot was easily followed and stage area was used to full advantage of the production and the action

The set designed by Jack Vardy was exactly right for the show and along with the technical design by Paul Carr enriched the production producing a good platform for the actors to work on.  I really enjoyed singing along with the Tony Christie songs. Also, well done to Stage Manager Ella Green all the set builders, crew, technical crew, and props - I thought the fish looked very authentic. The crew changed scenes very smoothly which kept the production moving at a good pace. I really enjoyed the dance by the ladies of the cast while changing from the fish factory to the racecourse it was very well choreographed and innovative. Costumes were exactly right for each character and helped bring out their personality well done Sandra Dickinson

Congratulations to all involved in bringing this outstanding production to the stage including front of House and Ian Robinson for the marketing. I hope Alison and CADOS decide to do the sequel to this play, namely Ladies Down Under as I am really looking forward to what would be an offer for this production.

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