Friendship has a value money cannot buy in this wonderfully poignant play.
Ladies Down Under by Amanda Whittington. A Second Thoughts Productions at The Bear Pit Theatre 21 October 2026 until 24 October. Director Rachel Alcock.
Review by Charles Essex.
Ladies Down Under is the second in Amanda Whittington’s trilogy about four women from a fish factory in Hull. After winning big at the races they splash their winnings on the trip of a lifetime to Australia.
This play is successful on multiple levels, with humour, drama and pathos. Director Rachel Alcock’s production was exceptional – the casting was faultless, and the props including large backdrop projections were marvellous.
In the departure lounge Dee Alder portrayed Jan’s nervousness even before take-off, and she became more agitated on landing when her boyfriend did not meet her. Pearl (Kate Guest), the matriarch of the foursome, showed regret that Life had passed her by. She had a secret she only revealed under the stars at Ayres Rock.
Glamorous Shelley (Rachel Barton-Noakes) had spent her winnings on her teeth, boobs and clothes to break into modelling. She revealed that she had very little money left. Rachel gave Shelley a ruefulness as she acknowledged that her goal was a pipedream.
Chloe Jane Wiltshire was ideally cast as Linda, giving her best performance as the gentle, kindly unadventurous girl who was giving her money away to those she felt were needy, much to the concern of her three friends. Yet Rachel’s astute direction brought out the curse as well as the blessing of the massive windfall, highlighted particularly by Chloe’s depiction of Linda’s character, who just wanted to get back to things the way they used to be. The friends met Danny (Emerson Fairclough), a happy-go-lucky drifter, and there were late night discussions about what was important in Life.
Barry Purchase-Rathbone, in his best performance to date, and Adam Schumacher were terrific as, firstly, the cabin crew giving a tongue-in-cheek safety demonstration, saying what cabin crews wish they were allowed to say. Then in the final scene, their enactments as drag queens Koala Bare and Bondi Bitch, respectively, at the Sydney Mardi Gras were outstanding. The cast’s final dance routine to Kylie Minogue’s I am What I am was superb.
Pearl, Jan, Linda and Shelley travelled 12 000 miles to find adventure and find themselves. This was a really uplifting play that clearly delighted the audience.
Tickets from: Bookings | Second Thoughts
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