Steaming

It is always a pleasure to be invited to the friendly Maldon Drama Group.  They have a great following from local audiences and a fantastic front of house team led by Linda Adair.  She always has a warm smile for everyone and we are extremely grateful for the refreshments that she sorts out for us during the show.

The Spring production was “Steaming” By Nell Dunn; directed this time by Gill Peregrine.  She gave us a considered, balanced show, with good blocking. The cast were word perfect and worked well as a team, exhibiting the hard work so obviously put in. Certainly a good show to choose for women, as this has 6 female roles, all having different ages and characters to play. There is just one man Bill, the maintenance worker who we hear through the door but never see.

The story is set in the eighties at a run-down council owned Turkish Baths.  The ladies all come together at least once a week to talk over their troubles and share their dreams of just how they want their lives to be. Their dreams are shattered when they find out that the Baths are to be closed to make way for a new library. Together they rise up to fight for their special place, where they can all be together.

The set was good giving us the vision of just how dingy the Turkish Baths used to be, with green tiles and murky conditions.  Loungers, plus an old table and chairs were dotted around, with lots of towels providing a feel of being very run down. This was brightened by the joy and companionship of the six ladies who knew that they could talk in safety and bring their fears to the surface without condemnation. 

We first meet Violet played by the very experienced actress Carey Brown.  She has  been Manager of the Baths for the past eighteen years and is the lynch pin of the whole play.  Working hard and loving her job she is proud to be there and loves her customers who she really looks after, even cutting the corns of Mrs Meadow.  A nice performance here from Carey who never overplayed the role and gave us a warm understanding, compassionate woman.

Josie is first to arrive. Heather Sims gave us a very strong performance as the sex mad, foul mouthed, unemployed woman whose husband had been sent to jail and her son was in Borstal. With no job she relied on the payments of her German abusive boyfriend.  Heather was wonderful in this role and was a joy to watch. I have seen her in many productions and am so pleased that she was given this large role to work with. She handled it with aplomb; this is not an easy character to understand as Josie has many layers.  With the passage of time we see her character blossom, you just hope she will carry on and become the person she has always wanted to be. Well done Heather.

Next to arrive are old Mrs Meadow’s (Stephanie Ireland) and her educationally challenged daughter Dawn (Karen Smith). A good double act here with both working well together. I loved the costumes for both these ladies, the old heavy coat, the plastic macs and shampoo hats.  Characterisation for both was obviously worked hard on. The long vacant stares from Karen Smith as Dawn, changing to manic moments and then rebelling finally against her mother were super. Hints of abuse and being involved with the police made us wonder just who she was. Just once, during one of the scenes in the second half, did I feel she went out of character but she quickly jumped back in.

Nancy arrives looking for her friend Jane who she is supposed to meet at the Baths.  Nancy is quiet and unassuming, with a lack of confidence, she sits nervously reading a book at the end of a seat, until Jane finally appears. Nancy has been married for 22 years to a barrister, who then leaves her for someone else. She seems fine until, with the help of the other women, she realises that she has life yet to live. Her line ‘I’m looking for a man. I want some sex!’ shows just how much she has changed. A nice restrained performance from Ghislaine Davis who is one of the stalwarts of Maldon Drama Group.  Always a strong actress, she totally understood what was required from this character and blossomed from the quiet meek woman to someone who knows what she wants.

Last but not least we meet Jane, the refined friend of Nancy. Here is a free spirit who travels all over the world and is a mature student. She seems to have it all but realises in the end, with the help of her friends, that she wants to find someone to make her happy. Viki Hayman as Nancy performed well although sometimes her refined accent seemed to slip.  However, she gave a good performance and worked well with the team of women on the stage.

We never see Bill the maintenance man, played by Alan Ireland, it might have added to the fun of the evening if he had sometimes popped in as I remember from the original production that this occurred.  I felt that at the end there could have been a little more excitement from the girls.  A lack of music throughout also made the production a little slow. I would have loved to have had some suitable music during the long change in the second half. There are so many songs that you can choose for this storyline that would have added to the play.

This script  is rather dated but with today’s austerity perhaps it makes you realise just how hard woman’s lives really are. The love of friendship and kindness speaks volumes; it’s definitely needed in our lives today!

Lighting and sound were appropriate, but I would have liked some cover on the tops of the upstage flats, which were in shadow.

Costumes were super and well done ladies for being brave enough to undress on stage without any embarrassment.  It all looked very natural although I don’t think I would be going into the steam room with the clothes you left on? Maybe all of you in swimming costumes might have looked better??

This was a lovely evening’s entertainment and the audience certainly enjoyed it judging by the comments around us.  Well done yet again to Maldon Drama Group.  We look forward to seeing you at your next show.

 

 

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