Ladies' Day

Thank you for the lovely warm welcome at Waddington Village Hall. I was excited to see your version of Ladies Day by Amanda Whittington. An exuberant comedy about four likely lasses from the Hull fish docks on a day trip to the races. 

Work, love, and life are just one long, hard slog for the fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley, and Linda. We see them ditch work, do themselves up to the nines, and head off to the races for a drink, a flirt and a flutter. If their luck holds, they could hit the jackpot - and more besides.  Most of all this play is about friendship. How the camaraderie between four fish packers enables them to face all the things that life throws at them, both high and low. They take advantage of the fact that in 2005 the Royal Ascot meeting relocated to York while undergoing a multimillion-pound redevelopment. Pearl is on the brink of semi-retirement and makes a spur-of-the-moment decision which sees them put off the hairnets, overalls, and Crocs, then gets them dressed to impress, and head to the races for Ladies' Day. As they embark on their champagne-fuelled day secrets and revelations are exposed giving way to moments of hidden heartache, vulnerability, thwarted ambitions all midst genuine humour. Against the odds the quartet not only gain admission to the enclosure but almost complete the Tote jackpot!

The main character actors were all excellent. Kayleigh Devon as Linda, a simple, trusting, and generous girl, finding her strength from her friends. The scene with Patrick (by Gary Wright) was delightful, her reactions to the jockey’s flirtatious story were masterful. Abby Innes as Shelley, vulnerable, young, naive, unsure of where her life is going, yet protective of her friends, Abby was fabulous as an intellectually challenged, brash, loud Shelley whose quest for fame and fortune masks her frailties. She discovers that her workmates have similar insecurities once the alcohol has loosened their tongues.  Sexy outfit aside, her body language and acting choices brought this character to life.

Joan King as the mother figure Jan, whose life is changing yet she can’t quite see her way through, and Joan played the drunk Jan very well.  I particularly enjoyed the superb performance by Maria Wagstaff as Pearl, who has the biggest ‘best kept secret’, until she confides in Jan. We discover that her life is far more complicated than is first thought and her search for answers leads to the most poignant scene with Neil Markland as Barry. They both played this scene so well, I was lost in their story and had tears in my eyes by the end. Just wonderful.

Tony Graves played Jim McCormack a sleazy TV racing commentator. His interactions with the TV camera and the girls were believable and funny. Other notable performances were by Charon Harmston, I hope to see more of you on stage in the future. Andy Brown as Joe, a confident performance. Dale Storey played Kevin a sad character with many problems, Dales’ interactions with the other characters were brilliant poignant and funny by turns. Other cast members played various roles fish-workers, security guard and racegoers. All delightfully enhanced the action and created the background during both the factory setting and the Ascot meet.  The scenery was delicately realistic, (Adrian Peill) painted and enhanced with stage props such as chairs and tables and a white race railing which all moved effortlessly around the stage. The factory fish packing area was well done and I appreciated the lighting plot and music which enhanced all the action and especially being invited to sing along to Tony Christie’s hit. (Thanks for the ear-worm!) Julie Addison's (Director) attention to the details was evident yet again, even the blue Ascot cards and the BBC Sports lanyard all looked realistic. The costumes were well defined, (Jane Kelly), with hats for the Ladies Day catwalk, appropriate outfits and jewellery, with good hair and makeup too. Extra technical elements were created by David Ridout, with Peter Cheseldine, I felt this tech team were brilliant.

Waddington Dramatic Society have the support of Rob Steadman, who wrote the theme tune as Music Director for the show, well done. The audience really appreciated the humour and the music, joining in and clapping along. Ladies' Day is the first in Amanda Whittington's Ladies' Trilogy and is followed by Ladies' Down Under which Waddington Players will perform next year. I can’t wait!

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