Ladies' Day

Garsington Manor is a fabulous location for an outdoor production on an idyllic summer’s evening. Many members of the audience had risen to the challenge of the show’s publicity materials and “come dressed for the races”, and happy groups of picnickers were scattered through the grounds.  The views extended across the parched plains of South Oxfordshire, and a solitary hot air balloon languidly traversed the evening sky.    Tiered seating had been installed to ensure that everyone had an excellent view of the play, which was staged on an elevated terrace, backed by a drystone wall and fronted by a border full of lavender, verbena and roses.

A setting, then, to conjure up firm going at York Racecourse, but the scenes here, which constitute the bulk of the play, are bookended by shifts in a fish processing plant in Hull.  However, hinting at this industrial setting proved perfectly adequate, as the four principals filleted their foam rubber fish at little podia branded for “Trident seafoods”.  These podia cleverly doubled up as brick columns to give structure to the various scenes at the Racecourse, and a single bench was the only other piece required.  This was an object lesson in minimalist yet effective staging.

The lives of the four female factory workers lie at the very heart of the play, and the principals set about establishing the context of their characters from the very start.  The banal conversations about last night’s tea and television were littered with small but critical details.  Sensible Pearl, married for over thirty years, is stepping back from work, perhaps to spend more time with her husband at their caravan; forthright Jan is a single parent, the devoted mother of Claire; brash Shelley presents as a wannabe celebrity but it’s mostly for show; while timid Linda is just starting to find her way in the world.  But the fish factory is not the place for intimate conversations, and it’s only when the women spontaneously decide to go to the races that we begin to understand their personalities and motivations.

The ensemble work between the four principal women was excellent.  They knew their lines and their cues thoroughly so that conversations flowed with ellipses properly observed, and there were sufficient disfluency markers to make these exchanges feel authentic.  The Yorkshire accents were generally convincing, and everyone’s words came across clearly.

It’s evident that the piece is set in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and the costumes captured the era perfectly.  Some of the outfits were relatively timeless – white coats accessorized with blue hairnets and rubber gloves must have been the standard look in fish processing plants for years, while the styling of men’s morning coats can’t have evolved much in that time either – but the women’s race day finery appeared exactly on point, and was echoed in the costumes of the “racegoers” amongst the audience.

While the greatest strength of this show was undoubtedly the ensemble work of the four principals, quite properly as their characters, interactions and emotions are the main focus of the play, the rest of the company provided necessary context, and the production was conceived to make the best use of the glorious setting of the gardens at Garsington Manor.  A perfect summer evening’s entertainment.

 

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.