Made In Dagenham

How lovely to see a packed house, indeed I understand the society enjoyed packed houses all week.  Telling the story of the Ford Machinists strike in 1968, this show has a strong message delivered with a huge dose of typical Essex humour.  It’s a bit of a shock to realise that this was 49 years ago.  The story was so important in the improvement of conditions and pay for the working women.  We owe those ladies a huge debt for their tenacity.

Director Sarah Barton must be justifiably proud of this show, the production was slick, well directed, well-paced and well performed throughout.

Juliet Thomas played the lead role of Rita O’Grady.   Initially an unwilling participant in the negotiations, Rita becomes the epitome of a strong working class woman and Juliet nailed the character perfectly.   Mandi Threadgold-Smith played foul mouthed Beryl without giving offence and producing some lovely comic moments.  Sian Prideaux (Clare) Charlotte Cavedasca (Sandra) Kerry Cooke (Cass) and Sarah Mayes (Jo) completed the group of leading ladies.  All of them had great characters and together they made a formidable team.  Lisa Harris played Connie Riley (the union rep) with great compassion and Clare Markey gave an excellent performance as Barbara Castle, sufficiently like the original without being a pastiche.  Finally, a compliment to Sophie French, who played Mrs Hopkins.  It’s not a large part but it is important in the story and Sophie demonstrated the character very well.  My, how things have changed in the last 50 years!

The men in the cast were equally good.   Martin Harris played Rita’s husband Eddie O’Grady, the character was a typical blue collar worker of the period, but confused and unable to cope with his wife’s new found independence.    Martin brought out the pathos and confusion of the part well.  Andy Gillett was excellent as Union convener Monty.  His emotional display on learning of the death of Connie was a tour de force.   Jon Keeler’s interpretation of Harold Wilson was great, he managed to take advantage of every single comic line in the script, and some moments that may not have been scripted but were just as funny.  Bob Southgate (Mr Tooley) and Lloyd Bonson (Mr Hopkins) were both excellent in their respective roles.

There were several other named roles and some of the remaining men doubled and tripled to provide the characters required.  Well done for making each of them look and sound different.  I must mention the two children in the show.  Sam Johnson played Graham O’Grady well, I have seen Sam perform before and he always produces excellent performances.  Sophie Cooke was delightful as Sharon O’Grady, following in her real mums footsteps no doubt!

The only thing that I really felt I need to criticise was the inclusion of men, dressed as women, for Everybody Out.   I feel it was not necessary to crowd the stage with these extra characters.  They looked like a rugby team in drag and they detracted from the message of the song.

Choreography was not credited but I suspect it was Director Sarah’s work and very good it was too.  The scenery was well designed and the cast and crew made the changes smoothly and with precision, not dropping the pace of the show at all.  Costumes were excellent, perfectly in the period.  Sound and lighting were good, I noted that there were a great number of mic packs being used for this production and I would say that this is the first time that I have not felt it necessary to criticise the sound in this theatre.  It just goes to show, even in a theatre as small as this one, mics improve the quality of the sound and make the dialogue and singing more balanced.  The band, led by MD Andy Prideaux was perfectly balanced, supporting the singers well.

How lovely to see a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the show and I forgive the rugby team, the show was outstanding.

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