I have never watched Kay Mellor’s TV version of “Band of Gold”. So, tonight I was watching Mellor’s adaptation for the stage with fresh eyes. The references calling back to the television hit from the 1990s I couldn’t spot, so this review is all about the play tonight. At the time over 15 million viewers tuned in each week when it aired on ITV.
Kay Mellor is recently known for writing “Fat Friends The Musical”, now she has returned to the theatre by re-visiting her original TV series, writing a thriller play for a star-studded cast in this world premiere.
The storyline centred on a group of women: Carol (Emma Osman), Rose (Gaynor Faye), Anita (Laurie Brett) and Gina (Sacha Parkinson). They were sex workers who worked at The Hustlers Arms. The action of the play took place in Bradford (even though there was regular talk about this Arndale place making me think it was Manchester) in the early 1990s. As you would expect, the production was meant to be more of a drama and thriller which occasionally contained Mellor’s style of comedy. After being in an abusive relationship, a young mother found herself in a problematic position. She decided to join the notorious red-light district to pay off her debts. But, the streets can be a dangerous place. There was a killer lurking in the shadows - whodunit? How do they keep themselves safe working their night shifts?
The dark themes within the play are still relevant today. Exploring the issue of domestic abuse, looking at family and friendship love, and poverty – the real root cause of sex work. The mirrors implemented into Janet Bird’s Industrial and Northern-looking sliding door set reflected how, sadly, the women’s sense of self-worth was determined by how they looked. The women in the play were sexualised objects to satisfy the male gaze. How much they were worth was measured by the men in the plot, some in high earning/status jobs. “Band Of Gold” fulfilled the intention of giving the women a voice. A window to tell their story and reasons why they wanted to work in such a dangerous and bleak profession. Jason Taylor’s lighting and Mic Pool’s sound operated hand-in-hand to form some atmosphere, creating a television-experience feel.
Overall though, it all felt too steady to be a thriller. Even the visual elements were not quite thrilling enough. The pacing was steady all the way through and the length of scenes were roughly the same throughout. It wasn’t laugh-out-loud comedy but the jokes, for the most part, were delivered at the right time at least. Sometimes though, certain humorous moments undermined the tension and drama of a scene, where it would have probably been better without the gag. It’s a tricky balance to achieve. Also, the killer’s motive felt rather random and underwhelming, I was expecting something more elaborate and for it to be a different person. So it’s for that reason, despite the play’s good insight into what is considered to be the world’s oldest profession, everything else about it was not really engaging or exciting enough.
Kieron Richardson’s Steve didn’t appear violent or hostile enough. It was more like his character reacted with sadness/anger rather than with irritability/aggression. The friendship and closeness between the main central women only came through just about at the end and wasn’t there all the way through. What became the emphasis for most of it was the separate stories of each women, which at least allowed the actors to explore their characters with some depth and detail. Renny Krupinski’s choreographed fight moments looked more slapstick than perilous. Also, I was surprised to see the actors wear microphones. I’ve seen plays in the Lyric Theatre before where actors have not used microphones and relied upon their trained voices.
In summary, the writing raised questions and awareness around important and relevant social issues. It is sad to read that even today there are reports of more women driven to sex work to make ends' meet. The implementation of Universal Credit, imposed austerity and cuts have hit the most vulnerable in society the hardest. But unfortunately, the production lacked the sense of thrill, drama and excitement.
Reviewer - Sam Lowe
on - 21/1/20
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