Nothing of the charm of the first two plays in Amanda Whittington’s Ladies series was lost in her third and final episode, taking place some ten years on in the mysterious destination of Lindisfarne.

With all the original cast and some notable new recruits playing the additional roles, Ann Roberts’ production of Ladies Unleashed, performed from 17th to 20th April 2024, had the full audiences at Woodclyffe Hall gripped and entertained throughout.

Well done and thank you to everyone who took part or helped to put the production on and mark up yet another success in Wargrave Theatre’s playlist.

Many thanks also to Maria Marron for her excellent  review, which appeared in May’s edition of Wargrave News, which is reproduced below; and to David  and Sheila Williams for the selection of photographs shown in the gallery beneath.

Ladies Unleashed, Woodclyffe Hall, April 17th to 20th   

Review by Maria Marron

“You know you have a good friend when you may not have seen each other for years, but when you do meet up again, within a heartbeat it’s as if you’ve never been apart.

That was the feeling not only for the characters in Ladies Unleashed, the final play in the trilogy by Amanda Whittington, but for the appreciative audience at the Woodclyffe Hall.

We first met the four female fish filleters from Hull in 2017’s Ladies Day when they went to Royal Ascot, winning a life-changing pay-out at the races, and a year later in Ladies Down Under when their planned wizard time in Oz was beset by tensions, rows and mishaps before an eye-poppingly fun time at Mardi Gras.

This time, the setting was a hen party on Lindisfarne. Yes, the characters had to deal with big decisions, resolving issues from the first two plays, but really it was a welcome excuse to spend another riotous evening in the company of four unlikely lifelong friends.

Director Ann Roberts adroitly switched the focus from high energy ensemble escapades to moving individual revelations and back again. The talented all-female cast ensured the pace never slackened and every wisecrack hit its mark.

Delayed trains and a mix-up over the booking of their cottage saw our heroines stranded all night long on the quayside, cut off from the mainland by the rising tide and at the mercy of the elements. How they each coped – or didn’t – spotlighted their very different characters.

Stoic mother figure Pearl (Lydia Massey) may have been the voice of calm, good advice but she had spent a lifetime ignoring her true needs. Pompous, needy Jan (Emmajane Hughes) was deliciously unpolitically correct, but her boastfulness – ‘my daughter went to Cambridge’ – hid her loneliness. Only kind, other-worldly Linda (Jill Sikkens) didn’t need to go on an emotional journey. As the bride looking forward to a future with her soulmate, she had found her happy ever after.

But hang on – weren’t there four friends? Ladies Down Under ended with the brash, loud-mouthed Shelley (Jo Cole) deciding to stay in Australia with a new man. But it was no surprise that she turned up in Lindisfarne, a trolley bag full of booze in tow. Her bravado unravelled as the night wore on and she revealed that not only had her romance gone sour, but that she was making a rather shady living.

A subplot about two Victorian herring girls ran parallel to the main story. Fish filleters like our heroines, they followed the fleet to make a living, but had dreams of better things. Pregnant Daisy (Hayley Crouch) thought her escape from a tragic upbringing would be a loveless marriage until she met Mabel (Chez Annetts). Could a naughty music hall act – performed with gusto – be their ticket to fame and fortune?

Interweaving the stories highlighted the fact the same challenges have always faced women, but perhaps the Victorian story could have been in a play in its own right.

The cast was completed by Victoria Dunne, who played a range of supporting characters including a student in need of Pearl’s no-nonsense advice, a snooty holidaymaker, Linda’s wife-to-be Maddy and the madam in pursuit of Shelley.

After a long, cold night of alcohol-fuelled tears, shared confidences and an unexpected punch came the dawn and resolution. Pearl decided to end her marriage while Linda embarked on hers. Jan and Shelley’s plan to move in together seemed unlikely to be a success.

The feel-good production ended with the whole cast performing a high-energy song-and-dance version of Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) while the audience clapped along.

Credit must also go to the production team including stage managers Dave Robinson and Henry Marchant, David Williams (lighting) and sound (Peter Knowles). The magnificent set painting of Lindisfarne Castle was by the talented Sheila Williams and Sheila Brockelbank.”