Checkout Girls

The set was well dressed with signage, baskets and goods from public donations and a local Tesco, one third of the stage was sectioned through lighting to make it the kitchen in Shelley's house, there was a small raised dais on the main stage area which added a different height, and created the illusion of a separate room/space.

Claire Dawes portrayed the gobby Shaz in such a way that we could see through her brash exterior to her inner vulnerability, her comedy timing with Tammy (Abbie Heywood) was spot on, they both had some great one liners and delivered them well. They were both immersed in their characters and were believable, diction and projection was good, I was pleased to see that when the audience laughed at a funny point in the script they just carried on and didn't try to milk it or even acknowledge that the audience was there- very good acceptance of the fourth wall.

Rebecca Foster played the motherly Sylvia, her characterisation was full bodied and empathetic, her diction and projection were good, she had a pleasant energy on the stage , quite calm and collected. Her use of stage space and props was nice, the chemistry between the softly spoken Sylvia and blustery Malcolm (Stuart P.Butt) was evident, his characterisation put me very much in mind of Tony from Dinnerladies. Laura Thompson played Pam - Shelly's agrophobic, stuck in the past mother, she cleverly underplayed the character which I felt gave us a good insight to her inner turmoil. Her diction and projection was good, to say that she was just sat on stage in full sight of the audience for most of the play and never once broke character or looked at the audience or the action side of the stage is fantastic and must be acknowledged. Shelly was brought to life by Charlotte Crowley, she was every inch the torn teen, desperate to fit in, to spread her wings but so lacking in self confidence and filled with self doubt, the scene where she shouted at her Mum was raw and powerful. Projection and diction was good, she gave some great face, I would just be a little bit mindful of flapping hands during dialogue delivery - sometimes in drama particularly ,less is more. The interactions between Malcolm and Shelly were beautifully done and portrayed a lovely respect between the generations . I enjoyed the play, thank you for your invitation, I look forward to seeing you again soon. 

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