Both new play 'It's The Wrong Way To Tickle Mary' and the Delaney Theatre Group are part of a major Arts and Humanities Research Council funded project based at the University of Oxford which looks at housing, culture and women's citizenship in Britain. The play is co-presented by community theatre group MaD Theatre Company - a charity that provides quality and affordable drama workshops for disadvantaged young people.
Hector the Metrolink Inspector (Baz Connolly) kicks off the show with a prologue about Manchester and how much it has changed. This sets the tone for the evening - light-hearted, but full of warmth. It was nice to have reference to all the significant things that have shaped Manchester and Salford become what they are today, and even a touching nod to the bombings that have affected the cities. The story takes us all the way back to circa. 1918, where World War I was taking place and the Suffragette movement was gaining momentum. In fact, it can be said that this play focuses more on the untold women's stories.
While the men are away most of the women are working in mills and factories - in this case manufacturing explosives! We meet a group of young girls led by Nellie Scragg (Mia Evitt). Evitt gave an assured, confident performance and truly committed to her role as the common Nellie. She was a joy to watch. The two young chaps playing the roles of the camp men had the audience in stitches. They had the roles perfected to a Tee, even their mannerisms were great! They even stole certain scenes when not speaking. In fact I would go as far as saying the children are what made this show. None of the adult cast particularly stood out for me.
There was a really nice community feel to this production. You could tell that the cast knew each other well, which helped with the chemistry and relationships on set. It's no surprise there was a fantastic turn out for this show, with not even a spare seat in sight. Given the community vibe of this show the audience was mainly made up of friends and family of the cast.
The lighting was great and helped add to the comedy of the show. For example, when the lighting changed to red every time the German gave the game away and everyone froze on stage. Although this show was set approx. 100 years ago there was a mix of old and new. Herbie & The Ricketts asked the audience to stream their music, and Nana could foresee that Salford would be bulldozed in the future to make room for luxury apartments. It was nice to see this mix as it made the play relevant for the younger generation and made it more fun for the youthful cast.
James Collinge created fantastic visual imagery which served as a narration for the story and also helped to fill in the gaps during scene changes. The style was also in keeping with the old cinematic feel, and all worked seamlessly - not an easy feat!
I’m assuming a large proportion of the budget for this show went on set and costumes. Everyone looked the part and exactly how I imagined people to look 100 years ago. The set was pretty basic, but it served its function. A large part of the story is set in the ‘Cock & Bull’ - a pub run by Nellie’s mother.
By the time the show reached its curtain call the audience were cheering and whistling to show their appreciation for what they just witnessed.
Reviewer - Brian Madden
on - 8/10/18
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