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Ladies of Letters Malvern Theatres ***** It seems
staggering, although perhaps not entirely surprising, that the comedy
series Ladies of
Letters ran on BBC
Radio 4 for as many as 13 years. Based on a series of
books written by a dazzling duo, the superbly accomplished writer,
broadcaster, actor and director Carole Hayman (whose earliest book,
The Warfleet Chronicles,
a murder mystery – part comedy - started in 1998, just two years before
she launched Ladies of Letters,
she has directed almost a dozen plays and written a clutch of ‘comic and
satirical novels. Her gifted writing partner for Ladies of
Letters is Leicester-born Lou Wakefield, likewise an actor, writer
and director, who started much previously, in 1981). Lou has directed
both Coronation Street and Brookside, and much else. The series, presented on BBC Radio’s Woman’s
Hour in 15 minute episodes, was launched, in 1997, by two
unforgettable actresses, Patricia Routledge (as Vera) and Prunella
Scales (as Irene): a remarkable duo. Hayman and Wakefield went on to
devise together many hilarious sequels, including – no wonder the radio
series ran on for over a decade – Ladies of More Letters,
Ladies of Letters Spring Clean, and – how about this? - Ladies of
Letters Go Crackers. It was also turned into a ten part television
version for ITV3 in 2009.
Gwyneth Strong, like her co-star, a veteran of Only Fools and Horses. Pictures: Craig Fuller The adaptation for the stage is by astute
playwright Jonathan Harvey, who sticks loyally to the pretty dotty
narrative. Harvey has penned some 20 plays, including for the Royal
Court, Liverpool Playhouse and Everyman and – impressively – the RNT and
Donmar Playhouse, picking up several prestigious awards on the way. His
three Musicals include Closer to Heaven and most recently
Dusty (Dusty Springfield) and Musik (originally for the
Edinburgh Fringe), while his plays Gimme Gimme Gimme and Best
Friends both achieved Bafta nominations. Plus 200 episodes of
Coronation Street: how does he find the time for anything else?
Anyway, the Routledge and Scales roles are now
being toured by Tessa Peake-Jones (whose appearance on TV with Ian Holm
in Iris Murdoch’s The Bell (BBC2, as long ago as 1982) was
unforgettable; and Gwyneth Strong (whose powerful films included Cry
Freedom) directed by Richard Attenborough, and about the South
African campaigner). Given that the two roles – Irene and Vera - require such an amazing feat of memory, that alone demands our admiration. The whole story – at least the first half - hangs, as one might anticipate, on an extensive exchange of letters between the two. We are faced with the suggestion that their
dialogue gets somewhat acidic, but although at times sarcastic, by and
large they are not so much bitter as probing. ‘As to any confidence, I
assure you they’re safe with me.’ ‘Knocking down the M & S on the High
Street to make way for a Wetherspoons’. ‘Dear Vera, thank you for your
letter, albeit tardy.’ Orgasmic farming’. ‘I now see where Karen gets
her depraved behaviour.’
But there is plenty of comedy, and the massive
response and laughter from the Malvern audience showed that every bit of
the humour came across (including Irene’s tail-wagging dog, Charlie).
They picked up the tiniest detail. They were, in fact, to their credit,
a very sophisticated, stirring audience. Part of the humour is that both of the pair end
up in prison – Irene for ‘obstructing the public highway and wilful
damage to a bulldozer’. In this second half, lacking envelopes, they
swap a lot of banter. Irene’s daughter has taken off to Australia; both
like the idea of a trip to Dubrovnik. The glaring neon displays one quite enjoyed; at
least up to a point. The music included some 1950s songs of which my
delighted lady neighbour clearly remembered all the words. That was
rather touching. One thing especially stirred one’s appreciation
of these two compelling actors. In the second half, the pattern changes
to a number of – almost a series of – soliloquies. Peake-Jones launches
in with a splendid and vivid solo spiel, which patently held this
audience’s concentration, with every word radiant and lucid. Irene has
as many as five such solo passages, and all were vivid and highly
expressive. Express is a word one could equally apply in her solo
sequences to Gwyneth Strong’s sometimes long-suffering Vera. Indeed, in
both of their (what we may call) speeches, everything shone. Good stuff. Roderic Dunnett 23-05-22 |
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