Dirty Laundry, a play written by local playwright Deborah McAndrew, has delighted theatre goers this past week at the Rep Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent.  The production, directed by Dawn Birks, beautifully portrays traditional life in the Potteries in the 1950s. A time when most folk worked in the pottery industry, and where families and communities were both close knit and hard working. It was an era of post war deprivation where rationing still existed and yet developments such as the NHS and better working conditions brought benefits and some comfort to the ordinary working man and woman.

Deborah McAndrew's play is set in a typical two up two down terraced house in Burslem in the heart of the Potteries. It is an intriguing tale that tells of the looming death of a man called Reuben, a former pottery worker dying of silicosis. As he nears his demise, secrets begin to emerge which both baffle and worry the characters entangled in his life.

Reuben’s daughter Nora, compassionately played by Miranda Gresty, cares for her father relentlessly in the two weeks leading up to his death but whilst doing so, is shocked to hear names being called out in his sleep. Names she doesn’t recognise and which perplex her. Nora is a young girl wanting to live life to the full but weighed down with the responsibilities of caring for her ailing parent.  Fortunately, she has considerable support from her neighbour Frances - played with a wry humour by Louise Challinor. Frances takes the young girl under her maternal wing and helps to unearth dark secrets which up until now have remained buried.

Dirty Laundry is immersed in themes of poverty, unethical work practices, public health risks, power dynamics and the battle between science and religion. Rumours and gossip feature largely too. The play also shines a light on how society was so very different seventy years ago - not just living standards but also care in the community. 

Geoff Legan plays the thoughtful and attentive Dr Copper who is a frequent house visitor to Reuben - a time when doctors always made house calls. Legan’s character is engaging and compassionate but there's a hidden agenda... Other visitors to Nora’s home include pottery firm owner Mr Wareham, played with dignity and kindness by Matt Spooner. Mr Wareham also hides a disturbing past concerning the death of a young boy. David Pengelly plays overbearing but well-meaning local politician Headley Blyth, an accomplice to the knowledge of the tragedy.     

The intricacies of the play slowly develop with clarity and humour. Interplay between the characters is both dynamic yet full of sensitivity. Local dialect, with colloquialisms only relevant to the Potteries, also feature.  

Dirty Laundry really is an excellent piece of theatre and particularly poignant to locals in Stoke-on-Trent who will be able to relate to the content and the era.  A superb drama.

5 Stars

Reviewed by Carol Lovatt at Stoke Repertory Theatre on Friday 13 June.