Dirty Dusting

Dirty Dusting is something of a North East institution.  One of the writers, Ed Waugh, is from Newcastle and the show premiered at The Customs House, South Shields before transferring to Newcastle’s Theatre Royal and, thereafter, the English speaking world.  It is, however, intrinsically “English” which many explain why it does not appear to have made an impact in North America.  The play is a very broad comedy full of “seaside postcard” humour and sexual innuendo (sometimes more graphic than innuendo!).  In parts, it can be hysterically funny.  Well, this Geordie lad, definitely thought it was.  I had never seen the show before and found you do need an open mind and a high embarrassment threshold, especially if you are of the male gender!

The set up is very simple.  We find ourselves in an office, after hours, with three old-ish cleaning ladies as they go about their business.  It seems their jobs are on the line and they may need a new income stream so why not set up a telephone sex line?  All very well in theory but not necessarily so easy in practise.  Liz Lake played Olive Grant, the one not quite at home giving telephone sex to strangers.  Her two colleagues, Jeanette Hunter (Elsie Collins) and Sue Douglas (Gladys Pitt) are much less inhibited. Provided Elsie impart a little essential knowledge to the others there seems no reason why they can’t make a little money, as long as they can keep their activities secret from their bosses, husbands, children and grandchildren!  They are, of course, using their employer’s telephone lines to carry on their business, and need to keep it out of the knowledge of Richard Heslop, who plays their immediate boss, Dave Smith.  For the most part they run rings around him.

Ovingham Drama Group have to assemble their own stage in the Reading Room and on this occasion chose to do so along the side of the hall rather than at the end of it.  This made the audience definitely feel more intimately involved in the goings-on.  This group always present interesting and amusing productions and this was no exception.  There was a slight meltdown in dialogue recall at one stage but these ladies are so used to appearing on stage together, they were able to soldier on, simply adding to the amusement rather than detracting from it.

As always, I had a thoroughly entertaining evening in Ovingham

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