Made in Dagenham

The production is based on the 2010 film about the female machinists who make the seat covers for Cortinas and Zephyrs at Ford's Dagenham plant and then strike for equal pay, which led to the Equal pay act of 1970.This production captured precisely the mood and atmosphere of the Sixties and the struggle for equal pay for women.

With limited acting space I was impressed by the use of various levels on stage and the use of the upper balcony to denote the management area.

The show was led by Rachel Allen as mum Rita O'Grady and was well matched with Leigh Smith as husband Eddie. Incidentally, also the director of the piece.  Another fine performance with well controlled emotion in “The Letter”. At times it was difficult to capture all the dialogue from Rachel either because lines were delivered too quickly, or the band were too loud. A real shame as I felt this actress was putting her passion into the part.

Amid the strikers I loved the character of Beryl played by Clare Bailes. Every place of work has a Beryl, loud and brassy. Good character work here.

The powerful “Union Song” introduced us to the male chauvinistic factory workers with a proficient performance by Ian Hamilton as shop steward Monty. A sensitive performance which the audience reacted well to.

A comedic characterisation of PM Harold Wilson by Mike Roberts was well executed and provided scope for some humorous scenes and contrasted well with Barbara Thomas’s controlled representation of Barbara Castle. However, for me, the wig did not ring true.

Two lovely performances came from Gianni Marcantonio and Isla-Rose Allen as the two O'Grady children. 

Other cameo roles too numerous to mention were of a good standard and coupled with the hard- working chorus members kept the audience entertained throughout.

For me the outstanding performance of the night came from Alison Hudson, the union convenor, Connie. Characterization was very natural and her rendition of “Same Old Story” was beautifully delivered. Well done.

The band, under the direction of Rob Brand, were positioned at the back of the stage behind the expertly built and painted scenery. Understandably utilizing the limited space available . However, for the majority of the time they were far too loud and there were occasions when members of the cast and the band did not synchronize together.

Unfortunately, on the evening that I attended there seemed to be some sound issues, with mics not being brought up on time or not switched on at all!

Choreography was well thought through and within the limits of the general cast. No one looked out of place or awkward.

Costumes were of the right era and hairstyles were good.

More attention was needed to the props. When an audience sits very close to the stage props that are used in plain sight need to look as real as possible and a file of papers with no writing on then was very evident as was the speech that Connie had written, when taken out of its envelope appeared blank. The empty fondue set could so easily have been made to appear real with small cubes of bread and some soft cheese or cream.

Lighting for the most part was adequate, however there were times when the cast were in shadow or did not appear to know where their lit area extended to and therefore missed it altogether. The factory never the less was well lit in that typical, almost clinical starkness synonymous with strip lighting.

These points should have been picked up by director Leigh Smith, but it is never easy to stand back and evaluate every aspect of a production if the director also has a leading role.

This show was full of company energy and enthusiasm and I enjoyed the overall delivery of a very hard-working cast but as with any production, attention to detail is just as important as delivering the correct lines and here I felt a little let down.

Thank you for your generous hospitality and I look forward to your next production.

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