ONCE UPON A TIME IN WIGAN: tours till 4 April

Southampton and touring

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WIGAN
written by Mick Martin
Presented by Urban Expansions in association with Contact

Seen at Nuffield Theatre, Southampton and tours to 3 April 2004
Runs 2hrs 30mins One interval

Review Hazel Brown 25 February 2004

A brilliant tribute to Northern Soul and its repercussions
This show is born out of the passion of the director, Paul Sadot, for the music, dancing and lifestyle that was lived out in the all-night clubs in the North of England, epitomized by Wigan Casino from 1973 -1981. In this faded old music hall, with legendarily foul bogs, where four young people meet, experience the most intense time of their lives and finally come to terms with its ending.

Eugene, played with raw intensity by Richard Oldham, opens the play talking about how Northern Soul at the Wigan Casino came into being. Then we flashback to his introduction to all-night dancing, making friends with Danny, learning the thrilling moves he's seen on the dance floor (Everything comes to he who can backflip in rhythm!) and his introduction to drugs. One of the side effects of the uppers they take to keep dancing all night is hilariously played out as Eugene desperately feels around in his trousers to find his shrunken willy. He falls for the glorious, mouthy, pushy, beautiful, blonde Maxine. Suzanne, a dull and dreamy girl, completes the foursome, becoming friends with Maxine in the ghastly ladies loo.

The dancing of the four characters is magnificent and the authenticity of their style is demonstrated by the video footage of young people dancing at the Casino. The excitement and escape provided by the dancing and the throbbing rhythms of the music are palpable, as is the crushing boredom of their dead-end jobs. The dialogue crackles with gritty authenticity and, as the world slowly collapses around them, Maxine finally moves on, Suzanne opts for marriage, Eugene slides into a drug taking and dealing and Danny's factory closes. His lament, There is no weekend without the week encapsulates the lot of all those put out of work by the death of the old industries.

The show tells it like it was, in all its glorious, sweaty detail, helped by evocative video footage, with the wonderful soul music thumping out its relentless rhythm, but it is more than just a wallow in nostalgia, the writing of Mick Martin ensures that.

CAST

Maxine: Sally Carman
Suzanne: Emily Aston
Eugene: Richard Oldham
Danny: Ryan Pope

Director: Paul Sadot
Designers: Giuseppe Belli and Emma Barrington-Binns
Lighting Designer: David Martin
Sound Design: Dan Steele
Fight Director : Pauk Benzing
Youth and Community Director: Fran Morley
Channel 4 Trainee Director: Robin Belfield

2004-03-09 20:31:48