Stags and Hens (The Remix)

Stags and Hens (The Remix) … a play produced/staged by Waterloo and Crosby Theatre Company at Merchant Taylors’ Boys School, Liverpool Road, Crosby on Saturday, 1st June 2024.  

“Stags and Hens - The Remix” … a comedy play set in Liverpool in the 1970’s, which was penned by the renowned Award-Winning ‘Scouse’ playwright Willie Russell.  The Russell Catalogue is immense, with shows like Educating Rita, Shirley Valentine, Blood Brothers and Our Day Out, plus many others. The storyline of ‘Stags and Hens the Remix’ follows two groups of ‘Scousers’ going on a Stag and a Hen do… what they didn’t know was that both Linda (The Bride) and Dave (The Groom) had decided to hold their ‘Do’ at the same seedy pub, on the same night… so what could possibly go wrong!  Russell originally wrote ‘Stags and Hens’ for television and for drama students from Manchester Polytechnic in 1978, as an in-house television production. The play was adapted and performed at The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool in 2008… described as one of Russell’s best achievements: lively, coarse, well-organised, but truthful and extremely funny.

The Production Team…. Rosie Shields (Director) was the one tasked and trusted to guide us through this ‘Scouse Comedy Adventure’.  The narrative includes lots of swearing, plenty of adult humour, both physical and spoken but, at the heart of it all is the friendships and relationships within the two groups. For this play to work, those friendships, relationships had to be believable; they had to come across as natural… the language used had to be ‘real’ - not forced – the character development had to be believable and again not forced… and I think I’d be right in suggesting, that all those challenges were accepted and achieved if the hoots, holla’s, the ooh’s and the aah’s that resounded around the auditorium throughout the production that afternoon and the applause that greeted the finale were any indication. I loved the small intimate coming togethers ‘off stage’ at the sides of the auditorium, loved the area set aside at the rear of the auditorium, were the ‘Hens’ met pre/during show, all visible to the audience, details that enhanced this production and made it feels real!  I had the opportunity to speak to both cast and Director at the end of the production… from their responses and replies, I can only think this must have been a ‘real hoot’ to rehearse, produce and direct. I got the impression from Rosie that she’d realised early on what was needed to ensure the success of this production… so familiarity sessions were run to enable cast members to get to know each other … nights out (any excuse for a beer or two ahahahah) were organised… it worked… there was an obvious bond throughout, a definite feeling of togetherness… you could just tell that everyone was working together toward a ‘common goal’ whilst having the time of their life… congrats Rosie, be ever so proud!

The Cast … the success of this play was down to ‘the whole’, not an individual…  cast togetherness, a common bond was evident throughout, so to start suggesting ‘show stoppers’ would, in my opinion, be wrong, but I will select MY two-favourite characters toward the end!  So, let’s start with the ‘HENS’ … Sarah Henchskelt played ‘Linda’ our Bride… not the easiest role to play, but Sarah made it look easy! The role is all about emotion, doubts about the wedding and the future… Sarah portrayed that whilst creating a good character … feisty at times, emotional at others, be proud Sarah.  Helen McLoughlin played ‘Bernadette’ (the Dictator) … OMG, this girl had ‘attitude’; bossy, brassy, opinionated, sarcastic, but loyal, the perfect fit for this role which she made her own… be proud Helen!  Lousie Dearden took on the role of ‘Frances’… ‘Linda’s bezzie’… great character created … sympathetic, supportive, showed concern for Linda…  good stage presence and comic timing… well done Louise!  Alex Faulkner created a good character in the form of ‘Carol’ a work colleague… sarcastic, values the friendship from her friends… (except when Robbie came into the frame), be proud Alex.  Finally, ‘the cry-baby’ ‘Maureen’ played really well by Miriam Jones. This was Miriams first show with WCTC and I’m suggesting it won’t be her last.  Great character, good comedic timing, just loved the little ‘skippy gait’ which added so much to the character which was there throughout… got the mix of cry-baby to drunk just about right… be proud Miriam!  The ‘Stags’ … Alex Sinclair played our Groom … ‘Dave’ … dragged into toilet at the start of production, dragged out at the end… in between, just sightings of him draped over the toilet bowl... ‘word perfect’ (didn’t say a word) … well done Alex … truly amazing!  Stuart Gray (The Best Man) gave us a strong character in the form of ‘Eddy’, aggressive, single minded, hated dancing, loved football, but would do anything for a friend … loved the confrontation scene in the lady’s toilet with Linda… highlight for me… be proud Stuart.  ‘Kav’ the ‘piss artist’; played ever so well by Andrew McLeod. Andrew created this vulnerable character, who needed the ‘Stags’ to give him confidence to overcome his lack of confidence. Good job Andrew.  Jason Sinclair played ‘Billy’ the quiet ‘odd ball’ but the ‘glue’ that kept the lads together, an amigo. Jason got this character just right … be proud sir!  ‘Robbie’ (the ladies’ man) was played with great aplomb by Ian Robinson.  Without doubt, Ian lived this part from first entrance to final bow … very visual, very loud, no half measures here… when he dropped his trousers … the gasps were heard in Formby!  Great characterisation, be proud sir!  Making up our cast, we had Tracy Vose who played ‘The Roadie’ and William Martin who played Band Member and Linda’s Ex … ‘Peter’.  Tracy did a good job with this, her first taste of treading the boards. It’s always great to see someone taking their first steps on stage, even better when that person is ‘just over 21!!!!’ … welcome on-board Tracy, your life will change forever!  William created another great character in the form of ‘Peter’ … the ‘kiss’ … smouldering stuff…. great character Peter… loved the boots and that outfit… impressive!  So finally… ‘Sticky Neck’ out time... MY two favourite characters... and I’m going to select one male/one female and let me assure this wasn’t the easy at all … ask anyone present that afternoon … and they would select others... but these are mine and I’m ‘plumping’ for Ian Robinson and Miriam Jones for totally different reasons!  Ian, because he just lived this part and those leopard print undies... left their mark on the entire audience, especially two ladies sat on the next table to me who almost hyperventilated at the sight of Ian, his undies doing his pelvic thrusting ... be proud Ian.  Miriam... what a show to make your stage debut... but Miriam never looked phased or out of place, created a believable character and that ‘skippy jaunty gait’ … so authentic which just enhanced the character and the role... be very proud Miriam! 

Set/Staging/Tech/Props… a basic set was used to depict the two toilet blocks – one pink/one blue…  built in house and worked really well creating the right atmosphere and affording the actors all the space they needed to do their thing!  The way in which they were build allowed swift - seamless interchanges between both locations… overseeing all things scenery and back stage wise, was the ever present and dedicated Stage Manager – Colin Wilson, who along with his team of trusty stage hands… Heather and Jason Sinclair, Niall Quigley, Nicci Henshaw, Andrew McLeod, Louise Dearden, Ian Robinson, Helen McLoughlin, Jessica Dearden, Penny Page, Sam Travers, Finnula Garner and Lisa Wall did a great job… be proud folks!  Set worked wonderfully well and we even got a glimpse of the newly purchased multi staging.  Sound/Lighting ... sound was OK, we did have a few slow personal mikes… but no major problems.  Lighting was minimalistic but worked well…. congrats to all.

Costumes/Props… Costumes were apt, depicted the era and gave the play an authentic feel.  Props were superb as always here at Waterloo… again adding to the authenticity and the enhancement of the play!

Constructive Advice … when speaking on stage, it is vital that the audience hears and understands ever word you say!  Spoken comedy is just the same… but with comedy… ‘Punch lines’ are a vital element for achieving the laughs!  So, ensure your audience hears every word, up to and including the ‘punch line’ which usually comes at the end of a sentence.  Don’t let your voice drop, don’t rush the end of your lines, if using an accent… don’t let the accent overpower or interfere with the understanding of the spoken word… diction is so vitally important… if the audience misses or doesn’t hear the ‘punch line’ or any part of the dialogue leading up to the ‘punch line’ … the line/the joke/the funny has gone, lost forever!  Just for information…

Thank you so much for inviting Susan and I to your production… and in similar words to ‘Miriam’ ‘We all had a good time didn’t we’ …  it was a shock, but we really did enjoy it from start to finish.  Looking forward to seeing you all again soon for ‘Bugsy’….

‘Stay Safe, Keep well’
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
District 6 Rep
NODA North West

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