Made in Dagenham
Funny and emotional Musical Theatre
Social history drama and comedy can be a tough balancing act. Made in Dagenham tells the true story of how a small group of women working in a factory in the late 1960s began a minor industrial dispute that rapidly escalated into a spearhead movement for gender equality in employment during the 1960’s. Despite the time lapsed, this is still a very relevant in todays society and the issues raised contain as much meaning now as they did back then.
cast shot taken by Tony Kelly.
This high-spirited and lively musical adaptation of Made in Dagenham is directed by Hannah Colthorpe and Erica Dupuy, performed by the students can be seen from the 4th – 14th May in the Conservatoire East Theatre in West Suffolk College. The original musical music created by David Arnold with lyrics by Richard Thomas are made extra spectacular by being performed live on stage by an eleven-piece band directed by Claire Bostock.
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This production has many scenes and the scene changes, carried out by the twenty-seven cast members, are exceptionally fluid, with barely a breath, turn, or exit between one scene and the next. Everything unfolds from the multi-layered, Ford branded, industrial factory vibe staging: factory floor sewing machine work benches, a bar, cabinet offices, a domestic kitchen and even a Cortina with lit headlights. There is no space for us to relax, think, or question.
Right from the offset we are engaged with the key strong female characters in this play, not just due to excellent scripting but the mature, believable delivery by the young actors and the engaging choreography led us to be involved from the offset. Potty mouthed Beryl (Georgia Pooley), ditsy Clare (Billie Dawson) and the earnest Rita (Millie Harris) create a dynamic and funny contrast with fantastic singing by Sandra (Eloise Jackson) and Barbara Castle (Emily Hopper). Laughter rung out from the audience as the woman bantered with each other on the shop floor and continued throughout the first half with comedic highlights from the Harold Wilson (George Peachy) scenes.
The second half became a rollercoaster ride of emotions. The opening musical number is uproarious with hilarious outfits, funny lyrics and another well-choreographed dance sequence fronted excellently by the cool American, Mr Tooley (Seyi Imologome). The audience were hysterical with laughter but we were soon on the brink of tears when Eddie (Ben West) delivered his solo song with such believable sadness and regret about his breaking marriage. We were uplifted again by the end of the play with the whole audience standing up, clapping and cheering for the final scene.
Overall this is one of the best musicals I have been to in a long time but don’t just take my word for it – see what the audience had to say ....