Made in Dagenham

The foyer was noisy and bustling with many people excited to see the performance from WLOG on a wet Thursday evening, April 27th 2023 of the Essex musical Made in Dagenham and it certainly did not disappoint. I was welcomed warmly and made my way into the packed auditorium of the Beccles Public Hall.

Made in Dagenham is a musical feast of Essex in 1968 and the women car workers fighting to be treated equally with skilled labour, in a car factory. It deals with the male/female attitudes of that era.

I would like to say how good everyone was, such great performances in the show. I don’t want to mention anyone individually because I felt you all worked well together to create the roles. The accents were great and it was very clear to understand what was going on. I could feel each character’s emotions and that came over really well with the funny moments too. To me you were all fantastic. Each and everyone of you attacked the roles with style. It must be a challenge representing ‘real’ people on stage and I felt this was met by all the cast. A huge congratulations.

The scenery was effectively used to the full potential with positioning and the cast moved freely in and out of the settings with style. Moving sets on and off stage were done by the cast so efficiently that they were barely noticeable and there were no awkward gaps creating a good continuity. I liked this very much.

The props used throughout the show were in-keeping with the time and I especially liked the tables that were wheeled on with the sewing machines. These gave the essence of being in a factory environment.

The Costumes were appropriate and apt for the 60s and showed the different styles worn. Some were maybe a little too short for the dancing.

The lighting was simple but effective throughout. The spotlight singled out the solo singer but please be aware of upstaging when they partially catch a static back scene.

The Director Sam Howlett used the stage to create the atmosphere in each scene really well. An assumption can sometimes be made on being angry, to shout, I feel that the approach made to this can vary and in some scenes the cast handled this very well. The Choreographer Jean Cator used moves that were well remembered and incorporated these into the storyline which enhanced the scenes to perfection. The musical Director Alex Rimell worked hard on the harmonies to create the mood and emotions of the performance.

A very nice touch was having David Essex in the interval and at the beginning of the show singing songs from his repertoire.

I love a live band, this is always a joy to see and hear, sometimes it can overpower any stage action. It is always good to get the fine line balance of sound if you can. In my opinion I would also think about who is using mics. It is always nice to hear everyone on stage when they talk not just the principal roles, just something to think about.

I had a wonderful evenings entertainment and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Thank you.

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