Work, love and life are just one long, hard slog for fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda. Will their fortunes change when they head to Ladies’ Day at Wolverhampton Racecourse?
Written by one of the most widely performed playwrights in the UK, Amanda Whittington, Ladies’ Day is an exuberant comedy about four likely lasses and their day out at the racecourse.
“Pearl is retiring,” explains Amanda. “She’s almost the ringleader of the group, so they decide to have a day out at the races. We see them transform from their fish factory outfits - the overalls, the hair nets - into their finery. They don’t really know anything about horse racing but cotton on to the fact that they’ve got an accumulator bet that keeps on winning. Really it’s about four, in the best sense of the word, ordinary women with ordinary lives, and it’s about friendship, love, marriage, work and who we are. There’s a lot of laughs, but also there’s hopefully a lot of stuff that people will relate to and empathise with.”
The play, which stars ex-EastEnder Cheryl Fergison as Jan, former Emmerdale favourite Deena Payne as Pearl, Emma Rigby as Shelly, Roisin O’Neill as Linda and Sean McKenzie in multiple roles, was written 15 years ago when Amanda worked for Hull Truck Theatre.
“When the Grand approached me and asked if I would like to look at it for Wolverhampton, I thought it was just perfect. There’s a fish factory in Wolverhampton, there’s a racecourse, the themes, subjects and the ideas in the play are still very relevant. I’ve rewritten the play for Wolverhampton in 2018 and updated it. Same story, same characters, but it’s set present day. It’s been really great to come and refresh it and revive it.
“The cast selection was Wolverhampton Grand’s decision, and I think they’ve made some great choices. They’ve got a cast that people will know from television and, again, which people are able to relate to. I think it’s very exciting to have such a high-profile, talented bunch of ladies. I’m very happy!”
As well as the core characters, Amanda has introduced a community chorus. “The chorus are really going to bring the racecourse to life and give us a sense of scale - that’s something I've never done before with this play. We’re going to have lots of race-goers and people working there. You can do that in a space like the Wolverhampton Grand.”
Having never visited the theatre prior to her initial Ladies’ Day conversation, Amanda is thrilled that her play is going to be performed at a theatre of the Grand’s calibre. “When I first visited, I was just blown away; it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s like one of those chocolate box theatres. When you were a kid, it’s how you would imagine a theatre to look - red and gold and so magical in its atmosphere.”
In keeping with the original show, the music of legendary singer Tony Christie features in the production. “He was number one at the time, so we decided to incorporate his music - it really captured the spirit of the play. It’s gone on to be one of the most performed plays on the amateur circuit, with dozens of productions being shown each year. It’s just always had a life, and I think that’s because it’s very relatable.”
Sharing top billing is Cheryl Fergison. Best known for her role as Heather Trott in EastEnders, Cheryl explains a bit about the character she plays in Ladies’ Day. “Jan is a single parent. She makes out to everybody that she kicked her husband out, but actually her husband left her. She’s focused totally on her daughter and will do everything and anything for her. She lives in the past a little bit and believes in respect, love and all those things. She becomes let down during the play, as a lot of the things she believes in are challenged. She doesn’t drink, but at the races she has a tipple and lets out a whole heap of secrets that she’s been warned not to say anything about. She kind of lets the cat out of the bag a little bit.”
Although having not long visited Wolverhampton Grand with the touring production of Menopause The Musical, Cheryl is certainly looking forward to returning. “Every time I go there, the audiences are so good. They’re really warm and welcoming. I think this is a cracking cast, and they’re going to know the people in the show from outside the show, which is going to make them intrigued as to how these people are going to come together for something new. It’s like when I do panto sometimes, people don’t expect that I’m able to sing. I don’t play Heather Trott from EastEnders all my life - that’s not who I am or what I was made to do.”
Talking about her journey, Cheryl reveals that being an actor was the career path that she was always destined to take.
“I‘ve always been a bit of a show off - ever since I was little, really - and I don’t know how to do anything else. I’m not entirely sure when my interest in the arts actually began, because we were from a very working-class background. Nobody read books in our house or anything like that. I just think it was that thing of being quite a big girl when I was little - as well as being a big girl now! It was a way of fending off bullies. If I was funny, they would leave me alone, so I would entertain at school. From that, you become popular because you’re seen as someone who can make people laugh.”
After school, Cheryl trained at Rose Bruford College. She then got a ‘fluke’ phone call asking whether she would understudy for someone in the West End. Her acting career progressed from there. Her TV work includes Big School, opposite David Walliams, Doctor Who, Little Britain and Casualty. On stage she’s appeared in Man Of The Moment, Measure For Measure, The Blue Angel and Dance Of Death.
“I auditioned for Ladies’ Day with what I perceived to be the best Black Country accent I could do! Out of all the accents, the only ones I can’t do are Black Country, Welsh and Newcastle, so I was thinking, ‘Oh no, how am I going to do this?’ In my head, I was thinking that I’d gone off and started talking in every other accent, from Australian to Indian to Swedish, but they said at the end that it seemed to be fine. It’s a challenge for me, and as an actress I think it’s really important that you have these challenges.
“And it’s really important to me that people support live theatre, too. It’s one of those arts that I really don’t want to see die out. It’s really expensive and people have to save up hard-earned money to go to the theatre these days, so it’s got to be good. People need to feel that they’ve had a good evening out. That’s important.”
Ladies’ Day shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Friday 13 to Saturday 28 July.
Work, love and life are just one long, hard slog for fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda. Will their fortunes change when they head to Ladies’ Day at Wolverhampton Racecourse?
Written by one of the most widely performed playwrights in the UK, Amanda Whittington, Ladies’ Day is an exuberant comedy about four likely lasses and their day out at the racecourse.
“Pearl is retiring,” explains Amanda. “She’s almost the ringleader of the group, so they decide to have a day out at the races. We see them transform from their fish factory outfits - the overalls, the hair nets - into their finery. They don’t really know anything about horse racing but cotton on to the fact that they’ve got an accumulator bet that keeps on winning. Really it’s about four, in the best sense of the word, ordinary women with ordinary lives, and it’s about friendship, love, marriage, work and who we are. There’s a lot of laughs, but also there’s hopefully a lot of stuff that people will relate to and empathise with.”
The play, which stars ex-EastEnder Cheryl Fergison as Jan, former Emmerdale favourite Deena Payne as Pearl, Emma Rigby as Shelly, Roisin O’Neill as Linda and Sean McKenzie in multiple roles, was written 15 years ago when Amanda worked for Hull Truck Theatre.
“When the Grand approached me and asked if I would like to look at it for Wolverhampton, I thought it was just perfect. There’s a fish factory in Wolverhampton, there’s a racecourse, the themes, subjects and the ideas in the play are still very relevant. I’ve rewritten the play for Wolverhampton in 2018 and updated it. Same story, same characters, but it’s set present day. It’s been really great to come and refresh it and revive it.
“The cast selection was Wolverhampton Grand’s decision, and I think they’ve made some great choices. They’ve got a cast that people will know from television and, again, which people are able to relate to. I think it’s very exciting to have such a high-profile, talented bunch of ladies. I’m very happy!”
As well as the core characters, Amanda has introduced a community chorus. “The chorus are really going to bring the racecourse to life and give us a sense of scale - that’s something I've never done before with this play. We’re going to have lots of race-goers and people working there. You can do that in a space like the Wolverhampton Grand.”
Having never visited the theatre prior to her initial Ladies’ Day conversation, Amanda is thrilled that her play is going to be performed at a theatre of the Grand’s calibre. “When I first visited, I was just blown away; it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s like one of those chocolate box theatres. When you were a kid, it’s how you would imagine a theatre to look - red and gold and so magical in its atmosphere.”
In keeping with the original show, the music of legendary singer Tony Christie features in the production. “He was number one at the time, so we decided to incorporate his music - it really captured the spirit of the play. It’s gone on to be one of the most performed plays on the amateur circuit, with dozens of productions being shown each year. It’s just always had a life, and I think that’s because it’s very relatable.”
Sharing top billing is Cheryl Fergison. Best known for her role as Heather Trott in EastEnders, Cheryl explains a bit about the character she plays in Ladies’ Day. “Jan is a single parent. She makes out to everybody that she kicked her husband out, but actually her husband left her. She’s focused totally on her daughter and will do everything and anything for her. She lives in the past a little bit and believes in respect, love and all those things. She becomes let down during the play, as a lot of the things she believes in are challenged. She doesn’t drink, but at the races she has a tipple and lets out a whole heap of secrets that she’s been warned not to say anything about. She kind of lets the cat out of the bag a little bit.”
Although having not long visited Wolverhampton Grand with the touring production of Menopause The Musical, Cheryl is certainly looking forward to returning. “Every time I go there, the audiences are so good. They’re really warm and welcoming. I think this is a cracking cast, and they’re going to know the people in the show from outside the show, which is going to make them intrigued as to how these people are going to come together for something new. It’s like when I do panto sometimes, people don’t expect that I’m able to sing. I don’t play Heather Trott from EastEnders all my life - that’s not who I am or what I was made to do.”
Talking about her journey, Cheryl reveals that being an actor was the career path that she was always destined to take.
“I‘ve always been a bit of a show off - ever since I was little, really - and I don’t know how to do anything else. I’m not entirely sure when my interest in the arts actually began, because we were from a very working-class background. Nobody read books in our house or anything like that. I just think it was that thing of being quite a big girl when I was little - as well as being a big girl now! It was a way of fending off bullies. If I was funny, they would leave me alone, so I would entertain at school. From that, you become popular because you’re seen as someone who can make people laugh.”
After school, Cheryl trained at Rose Bruford College. She then got a ‘fluke’ phone call asking whether she would understudy for someone in the West End. Her acting career progressed from there. Her TV work includes Big School, opposite David Walliams, Doctor Who, Little Britain and Casualty. On stage she’s appeared in Man Of The Moment, Measure For Measure, The Blue Angel and Dance Of Death.
“I auditioned for Ladies’ Day with what I perceived to be the best Black Country accent I could do! Out of all the accents, the only ones I can’t do are Black Country, Welsh and Newcastle, so I was thinking, ‘Oh no, how am I going to do this?’ In my head, I was thinking that I’d gone off and started talking in every other accent, from Australian to Indian to Swedish, but they said at the end that it seemed to be fine. It’s a challenge for me, and as an actress I think it’s really important that you have these challenges.
“And it’s really important to me that people support live theatre, too. It’s one of those arts that I really don’t want to see die out. It’s really expensive and people have to save up hard-earned money to go to the theatre these days, so it’s got to be good. People need to feel that they’ve had a good evening out. That’s important.”
Ladies’ Day shows at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Friday 13 to Saturday 28 July.
By Lauren Foster