LADIES DOWN UNDER

The audience were promised an evening of fun and enjoyment following the adventures of the four fish-packing friends we first met when in "Ladies Day" they won a million pounds at the Ascot races.

Now they were setting off on the journey of a lifetime to Australia intent on spending their money and in search of adventure as they discover new challenges and opportunities.

Once again the multi-talented cast of Codsall did not disappoint. From the opening lines at the airport to the closing of the play laughs came thick and fast but also there were tears as problems could not be escaped from even though they were thousands of miles from home.

An excellent performance from Ann Escritt as Pearl the overall leader and fearless trekker who is game for anything and doesn't shy away from problems the girls face even though the ending reveals that she has more than enough of her own problems. The "girls" Adele Evans (Jan), Fiona Bingham (Linda) and Helen Stott (Shelley), quickly established their own characters and never once drifted away from them except the polished performance we all enjoyed from Fiona as she blossomed from the quiet diffident girl to a full blown "good time girl" An hilarious make-over.

The girls were ably supported by John Bingham as Joe who had escaped to Australia for a new life and Dan Harper (Tom) and Tom Churm (Bill). Their "I Am What I Am" number made me want to see these two in a musical!

While the girls played their characters the men in the play covered all the other male characters and in every instance the character change was complete and the audience were fully engaged with the new character.

In Act II there was much analysing of the lives they had all left behind in England and with the celebration of the "Mardi Gras" they exhibited a different side of their characters. I would not spoil the enjoyment of anyone by revealing the end of the story but certainly if the production you see is half as good as Codsall's you are in for a great evening.

No production is ever a success without a competent back-up.  The lighting and props were excellent and the projection photographs and music enhanced the whole play.

This was an evening that was all that Codsall promised. Congratulations to the winning combination of Directors Wendy and Colin Peterson. I hope to see more of their combined talents in the future and to all the players I can only say thank you for an evening of sheer enjoyment.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.