Amanda Whittington's - Ladies' Day
directed by Pamela Brewer

Studio Theatre, Regent Centre, Christchurch
September 2009

Review:
Courtesy of The Bournemouth Evening Echo
Amanda Whittington's play centres around four women working in a fish-filleting factory who, to celebrate the impending 'retirement' of one their number, take a day off to visit Royal Ascot, relocated for the season to York. However, what begins as an enjoyable interlude soon evolves into something far deeper as the characters reveal the people behind the facades before finding their own ways of dealing with the issues raised.

I simply cannot praise this heart-warming production highly enough. Pamela Brewer's direction made me really believe in these women  - Pearl (Tracy Challen), about to leave her jobto spend more time with her husband; Jan (Louise King), a divorcee whose daughter is about to leave the nest; wannabe star Shelley (Lindsay Edwards) and pizza loving child-like Linda (Claire Hunt) - as all four gace totally natural performances that one would be hard-pressed to see bettered. And Adam Donoghue, playing a multitude of characters in several vastly differing accents, was an absolute delight.

This play, like Art which preceded it last week, has taken Arena's always fine standard to an even higher plane and surely confirms the company's excellent and well-deserved reputation on the local theatre scene.
(Linda Kirkman)

Cast List............
Pearl - Tracy Challen
Jan - Louise King
Shelley - Lindsay Edwards
Linda - Claire Hunt
Various Roles - Adam Donoghue

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