Made In Dagenham

When entering the theatre for this production, you were greeted by the open stage, where a table and chairs and 2 rising towers greeted you. It was lovely to hear the orchestra warming up, and kudos goes to the Dagenham Dudes band for their excellent accompaniment to the performance. 

When the band started playing, we then got taken into the world of 1960’s Essex, and the Ford Dagenham workers. Rita O’Grady, played by an outstanding Bethan Packer, was the first character we were introduced to and then the stage came alive with the family chaos of her husband Eddie played by the talented Dale Gravell and their 2 kids Sharon and Graham, who in this performance were played by Anna Llewelyn and Laurie Williams respectively. These two youngsters played their parts well and added to the family dynamic needed for this show. There were some lovely vocals by Laurie during his school scene, and some fabulous acrobatics by Anna in the America sequence. Also, I must mention Ava-Brooke Rano and Harvey Jones, the other 2 children sharing the roles. It was lovely to see that they were still involved in the action, and I did have a giggle when Ava-Brooke came out dressed as Annie, knowing she was involved in a production of the show last year.  

We were then introduced to the Dagenham men, and rest of the ladies. Some standout performances here included Helen Ansell Williams, who was hilarious as the outspoken Beryl, and Connie, played touchingly by Cath Van Wyk. Also, we met Clare, played by the comical Cath Bingham, Sandra, who was played by Emma Davies, who sang her solo well, and Cass played by Abi Rice, who’s Liverpudlian accent was spot on!

Monty, played by Dean Smith-James, was well portrayed, and added a nice dynamic to the group. 

Harold Wilson was played by Saul Woods, who held his accent well, and had some funny moments. I was impressed by Rachael Morris as Barbara Castle. She added warmth and humour to the role, and her solo was one of the highlights for me. Another highlight was Fahad Alsayer as Tooley. He had the swagger needed for this role and his solo was well sung and funny. Nick Ruggieri and Millie Tanner as Jeremy Hopkins and his wife Lisa, were a lovely addition. And it was lovely to see the solidarity between Millie’s character and Bethan’s character. 

You could see how much hard work was put into the ensemble. There were some lovely little moments that were happening behind the main action, and they stayed in character throughout. Jo Llewelyn as the Cortina Man was well played, as was William Evans as Stan. I have already mentioned 2 highlights, but I must mention another. Dale Gravell singing the letter. He had the right balance between funny and sweet, and it was lovely to see a different side to him. The main highlight for me though was Bethan Packer and her final speech and song, there was a real maturity and understanding there and it was quite an emotional and empowering moment. A mention must go to Carys Melodie and her team for a real layered performance, and the way they handled bringing the very real story of Ford Dagenham to life on the Taliesin stage. 

Congratulations to all at CAOS for a well-rounded and touching performance.

The views in this report are solely of the author.

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