Made in Dagenham

The tried and tested creative team gave us a most enjoyable production, well-acted and musically secure.  The language was of the time, and the cast didn’t baulk, which made it seem natural!

There were a few places when I felt the pace lagged because of scene changes, which I would have looked at cutting down as it is a long show, but the energy and enthusiasm of the cast carried us through the highs and lows of the Ford strike for equal pay.

Well-directed and musically secure, the male cast were strong, and matched the equally strong ladies cast so volume was co-ordinated.  There are diverse emotions in the music, which were all addressed with empathy.  Choreography was good and the cast executed their movements well, although there were a few moves that didn’t exist in the 1960’s!!

My main problem with the production was the sound – the whole of the first scene was more or less lost, however as the evening went on it got better.  Lighting was adequate, but I felt the front of the stage was underlit, which was not good, as the stage space was limited because of the necessity of the towers either side, which was limiting.  Because of the rather strange stage space at the Spotlight, everything seemed very elongated from lack of depth. 

Costumes were in keeping with the era, and were colourful, nicely pulled together.  However, I felt Barbara Castle’s wig was so obvious, it was out of kilter with the overall look of the character.

Emily Delamaine (Rita), gave us a good portrayal of the firstly downtrodden wife, but blossoming into a Union spokeswoman, lovely voice too.  Alex Budd (Eddie) created a sometimes confused husband, we could feel his indecision regarding what was the right thing to do, I enjoyed his “The Letter” song – a good pairing.

Max Amos (Graham) and Daisy Budd (Sharon) acted and sang so well, creating a very believable family unit with Rita and Eddie.

Rachel Ainslie-Green (Barbara Castle) and Andy Frost (Harold Wilson) were a super couple giving us the essence of the real people they depicted…very well done.

Alex Rolle (Connie) provided another dimension as the strong Shop Steward, a dominant personality, with a sad ending, but which gave Rita the will to forge ahead.

Jeff Hammond (NUCB Convenor) gave us the indecisive Union man, not sure how to deal with the women, then showing his emotional side over Connie’s passing – a good portrayal.

Graham Duncan (Jeremy, the Ford MD) and Katy Bovaird (Lisa, his wife) created a typical slightly upper class non-emotional relationship, which contrasted well with the other pairings, I thought they did well.

I thought Angie Frost (Beryl) was extremely good, and injected lots of humour into her role, with Mollie Brown (Sandra), Brooke Shannon (Clare) and Hannah Frost (Cass) as the core workers giving plenty of diversity in their characters.

This was a large cast and space restrictions mean I cannot mention everyone by name, but suffice to say, I thought everyone created fine characters, the choreography was well-performed, and musically a great sound.  I loved the fact that the audience were encouraged to “Stand Up” in the final number, and really get into the spirit – and rousing ending to a good production.

My thanks to BTC for their continued and much appreciated hospitality.

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