Have you ever wondered what might happen if sex chat lines were the province of elderly women, not twenty-somethings, attending to the aural needs of sex-craved and yes, even depraved, men? Well, if you want to find out, this play is most definitely for you!
Three elderly (and over the European Required Retirement Age) cleaners at an office which seems to have come straight out of the 1980s - with the cleaners' costumes (and glasses) coming from a couple of decades even earlier! - have been given their notice. Younger cleaners from an agency are to replace them on Monday morning. In defiance, and through a strange quirk of fate when they receive a wrong-number telpehone call - they decide to set up their own telephone sex chat line service over the weekend, which as one might imagine, has hilarious results.
I mention the set and the costumes simply because the dialogue clearly puts the action in the 21st century; but sadly the set and costumes did not bely this at all, as well as using the type of telephone which had a number dial and a corded receiver (as pictured in the poster above). What office is using phones like that in the 21st century?! And I therefore found the play most confusing since I did not know in which decade the play was set.
Three elderly (and over the European Required Retirement Age) cleaners at an office which seems to have come straight out of the 1980s - with the cleaners' costumes (and glasses) coming from a couple of decades even earlier! - have been given their notice. Younger cleaners from an agency are to replace them on Monday morning. In defiance, and through a strange quirk of fate when they receive a wrong-number telpehone call - they decide to set up their own telephone sex chat line service over the weekend, which as one might imagine, has hilarious results.
I mention the set and the costumes simply because the dialogue clearly puts the action in the 21st century; but sadly the set and costumes did not bely this at all, as well as using the type of telephone which had a number dial and a corded receiver (as pictured in the poster above). What office is using phones like that in the 21st century?! And I therefore found the play most confusing since I did not know in which decade the play was set.
The script is full of sexual innuendo, reference, and hilarity. If it's classical drama you're after you've come to the wrong show buddy! But here the comedy play soon turns farcical, and with an audience comprised mostly of middle-aged women, the laughter was non-stop, and they lapped it all up eagerly. Sometimes bawdy, soetimes overt, but all inoffensive; the play had a very TV sitcom feel to it, both in the writing and the production. The cast had even been directed to look passed the fourth wall every now and then giving the impression they were speaking or performing directly to us.
The set, ideal for a mid-scale tour, consisted of a set of flats and a couple of desks and remained constant throughout the four scenes, whilst a cast of four is also a plus for such a touring production.
The three elderly cleaners with their money-making sex-chat were played in this production by Vicky Entwistle, Leah Bell, and Vicki Michelle. The three had a good rapport with each other, and their individual back-stories and characterisations were brought out well over the course of the play. The fourth cast member was Andrew Green, a mother-loving singleton with a love of vacuum cleaners, trying hard to be the hard-nosed boss of the girls, but deliberately ineffectual in that regard. His moment came towards the end of the second act, where he truly came out of his shell.
The set, ideal for a mid-scale tour, consisted of a set of flats and a couple of desks and remained constant throughout the four scenes, whilst a cast of four is also a plus for such a touring production.
The three elderly cleaners with their money-making sex-chat were played in this production by Vicky Entwistle, Leah Bell, and Vicki Michelle. The three had a good rapport with each other, and their individual back-stories and characterisations were brought out well over the course of the play. The fourth cast member was Andrew Green, a mother-loving singleton with a love of vacuum cleaners, trying hard to be the hard-nosed boss of the girls, but deliberately ineffectual in that regard. His moment came towards the end of the second act, where he truly came out of his shell.
One other thing I should mention is the venue itself. Middelton Arena has been since its opening in 1988, a receiving house for many of the country's finest music tribute acts and comedians, but one so rarely has the opportunity of watching a play there, that that in itself was a huge treat. Producers please take note and add this to your venue list!
A fun night out.
A fun night out.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 30/10/21
Venue enquiries: Jonathan.higgins@link4life.org
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