Dinnerladies
By Victoria Wood
Adapted and Directed by David Graham
Richmond Theatre
13th – 18th July

Let me say straight away that I think that Victoria Wood is a very talented, gifted creative person and that the TV sitcom ‘Dinnerladies’ is a classic television series which has an endearing charm and is always guaranteed to amuse. I wanted to make that clear because although I did enjoy this stage version I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.
David Graham has worked on the scripts and has extracted one story theme running through several episodes over the several series of the show. It might be that he has extracted the most important story line, I do not have a problem with that because the alternative was to write a new play based on these characters, if you like a new episode placed somewhere in the canon of the already well known series. The problem then would have been to produce a two hour play when 30 minutes was the running length of the programmes. The problem I have was with the remarkable look alike characters. Again no problem with Shobna Gulati and Andrew Dunn recreating Anita and Tony, it was more Laura Sheppard as Bren, Stella Ross as Jean, Liz Bagley as Dolly and Barrie Palmer as Stan and to a lesser extent Louise Dumayne as Philippa. I think these scripts were worth more than a mere mimic recreation of something that can be seen regularly on G.O.L.D.. I am sure that in twenty years time the play will be revived and just like Noel Coward plays it will be seen how good the scripts were without the overlay of those particular characterisations.
And this is a funny play, nicely judged for what it is, i.e. a play with lots of laughs, some pathos and a good ending. The actors time their gags very expertly and the audience laugh because the lines are funny and the audience have a jolly good night out. It is what I like to think of a seaside variety play, people on holiday wanting to enjoy themselves and perhaps, just perhaps it was right to get the cast to mimic their characters, but then Jacqueline Clarke as Petula showed that it was possible to interpret her character in her way and to get laughs.

Reviewed by Evan Rule