Ladies Day

LADIES DAY... staged and performed by the Too Friendly Theatre Company at The Bijou Cinema, Post Office Street, Southport on Friday, 22nd May, 2026

Ladies Day ... is a great comedy play penned by Amanda Whittington. The narrative revolves around our ‘fish-filleting foursome’ ... Pearl, Shelley, Jan, and Linda whose life situations all differ: single, married, divorced and all with varying expectations from life.
A ‘fish-filleters’ day is one long, hard slog, but as Pearl’s retirement looms large, they decide to head off to ‘Ladies Day’ and the races, where their fortunes are set to change! With factory hairnets discarded, replaced by fancy hats, the four friends arrive at the racecourse for an unforgettable day out. At the Races, champagne is quaffed, secrets are spilled and friendships are tested to the limit as a result. As, the day progresses, tempers fray, but that ‘accumulator bet’ they’ve all contributed to, keeps quietly winning! So, if their luck holds out, the ladies could well hit the jackpot!  Did those nerves hold, did their luck change .... all I can say is... “you’ll have to watch the play to find out”!

Production Team ... taking the ‘reins’ as a director for her very first time, was Tracey Holmes-Smith. Tracy was not only responsible for guiding us over those ‘jumps and ditches’, she also took on one of the four lead roles, that of Pearl and what a great job she made of both. Tracy had cast wisely and with much help from cast and crew (Tracey’s words not mine) ... there was little or no doubt that she had a complete grasp of what was needed to make this play work... and work it did, be proud Tracy be proud gang...  good job!  

The Cast ... we had an experienced cast that numbered just five. As most people will know this is where I usually suggest MY favourites, MY show stealer, but when you have a small cast who had all given their all, creating this genuinely cohesive group of friends whilst creating their own distinctive character, each with their own problems to contend with, then it’s sometimes extremely difficult to start suggesting that someone was better than someone else, without perhaps doing an injustice to others! 
So, let’s look at the cast....
Jo Wasilew played ‘Jan’. Jo, over the years has shown us that she’s a natural comedic actor and she used all that experience to the full in this production. Great character created, wonderful comedic timing, as always, and great stage presence. I was a little concerned however with her realistic approach to being a drunk (when I asked her about it post show... “practice makes perfect” she suggested). Be proud Jo, great job!
Jen Johnson played ‘Shelley’ ... a fiery, brash and sassy character; the wanna-be wife of a millionaire. Jen delivered all those characteristics and more, whilst being able to show us the vulnerable side of the character and what she was really going through under all that bravado. Luved her mannerisms, facial expressions, not the easiest role to get right, but Jen did it her way with effortless ease! Well done, Jen... impressive!
Sophie Parkes played ‘Linda’...  a very naïve and vulnerable young lady. There was no doubt that Sophie embraced this role and made it her own. Throughout the show, Linda the character grows in confidence and Linda really did take us on this journey with her. Loved, loved, loved the scene with ‘Patrick’ the jockey played ever so well by Neil Woods.... there was a real chemistry between the two. Not the easiest of roles, but you nailed it!
Tracey Holmes-Smith played ‘Pearl’ ... a woman with a deep routed secret that she’s been harbouring for seven years! All four take us on journeys, Pearl’s being the longest! She manipulates all the day’s events in the hope of finding ‘Barry’!  When Barry finally appears and we hear their goodbyes, you could have heard a ‘pin drop’ ... great scene, great moment, great interactions between the two ... be very proud!

Neil Woods had the unenviable task of playing six characters and play them he did with great panache ... ‘Joe’ (Boss @ Fish Place), ‘Fred’ (the dodgy Ticket Tout), ‘Jim’, (the sleazy TV Presenter) ‘Patrick’ (the Irish Jockey), ‘Kevin’ (Drunk, who’d lost everything) and ‘Barry’ (the Bookie/Pearl’s secret). Neil played them all differently, different accents, different personalities... favourite had to be ‘Patrick’ the Irish Jockey, accent was superb and his interactions with ‘Linda’ so emotional ... followed closely by ‘Barry the Bookie’, which he played wonderfully well... be very proud Neil, portraying six characters is not an easy task!
 
OK, I’ve said it would be difficult to pick a favourite and it was ... but I really thought Jen Johnson was outstanding as ‘Shelly’, her performance, her characterisation, the journey she took us on was up there with as good as it gets.... be very proud Jen!

Staging/Tech.... The Bijou Theatre isn’t the largest of spaces, but Too Friendly use every available ‘nook and cranny’ to stage their productions and this was no exception. We were met with the usual open stage... which had hay bales either side of ‘bench type table’ set centre stage, with fish crates on an extension and an ‘on-stage’ changing facility created upstage left which worked very well... all designed by Mark Haygarth.  Stage furniture was moved to create the different scenes, moved by cast.  Lighting was basic, as was the Sound under the watchful eyes of Cliff Gillies and Sue Fryer respectively.  

Costumes/Props were apt, of the era and enhanced the production... the ‘props’ overseen by Jen Johnson were of a good standard and used really well throughout

Once again, Too Friendly did what they do best ... stage a great production, in a small confined space, with no fancy frills, no fancy techy stuff... just five talented actors, giving their all and doing what they do best ‘ACT’, ‘CREATE BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS’ & ‘WORK TOGETHER AS ONE’ ... not much more you can ask for really!

Thank you so much for the invite, I’ll try and not leave it as long next time!  Thanks to Helen for looking after us throughout and to Mark for his welcome. It really was great to see you all... Susan and I really did enjoy the production... great job!

Stay Safe, Keep well
“Stronger Together”

Jim Briscoe,
NODA NW
District 6
 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.