Made In Dagenham

I was warmly welcomed when I arrived at the venue and shown to my seat.

The set ( Keith Radley) was constructed with screens which were flexible, moveable, not complicated but very effective. Set changes were made efficiently and largely unnoticed by the audience eg the movement of sewing machines on and off stage.

The plot is well documented and tells the real life story of the female sewing machinists at the Ford factory at Dagenham and their fight for equal pay and status.

This was a big and talented cast all performing at a very high level in amateur dramatics.

The principal characters, Rita O'Grady played by Amy Pryce and her husband Eddie, played by Kris Tyler, were played with great flair and conviction by Amy and Kris.

Justine Ephgrave, as Connie Riley, had a strong role as the girls' union representative who eventually actively supported the girls in their fight.

Emily Smith was a cheeky and bubbly Sandra Beaumont, bringing a touch of everyday life to the part.

Michael Mundell-Poole, played Monty the somewhat ineffective trade union leader, incapable of standing up to the management board.

Corrina Wilson, as a fiery Barbara Castle was impressive and her rendition of Ideal World in Act Two was inspiring and thrilled the audience.

David Slater, as Harold Wilson displayed all the mannerisms associated with the former Prime Minister and his interpretation of the role was excellent.

Rita and Eddie's children, Sharon and Graham, Team Redbridge, were confidently played by young actors, Avalon Lowton and Shay Mullery at Thursday's performance. Well done !

Stewart Adkins, in his 60th show for the society, was a strong performer as Jeremy Hopkins, the very “old school” factory manager with Susy Hawkes-Dighton as his rebellious and determined wife. A good pairing !

Franky Garland, as Cortina man injected comedy and the Cortina girls brought glamour too.

Scene 5 in Act Two. Ed Groombridge was a confident Mr Tooley, the American owner flown in from USA.

The parts of Beryl, Clare, Cass, Bill, Stan ,Barry, Greg Hubble, Ron Macer and Mr Buckton were all played with enthusiasm and added greatly to the speed and flow of the production. There was strong backing and support from the 12 members of the Ensemble.

The nine members of the band provided just the right level of sound and accompaniment to the cast. Under the expert direction of Musical Director, James Tovey, the solos, duets and ensemble musical numbers were a joy to hear with high spots for me being Made In Dagenham, Everybody Out and Stand Up.

There was imaginative use of lighting to create atmosphere and the costumes and wigs were all entirely appropriate to the times.

There was a large and talented production team and crew providing excellent support to the onstage performers.

This was a sparkling performance which moved along at a good pace. Many congratulations to Nikki Mundell-Price and James Tovey for bringing their vision to life.

Every cast member performed with great enthusiasm and obvious ability and appeared to be enjoying their return to the stage.

Congratulations to all involved in this excellent production, in any way.

I enjoyed the evening immensely.

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