BBC Radio 4, 28 May 2011
Set in 1970, this tale involved an outing by a group of local bottle
factory workers and their Italian employers. The Italians were after the (female) workers; the workers for their part enjoyed
the experience of letting their hair down and drinking, occasionally flirting yet refusing to give in to their male pursuers.
Susan Roberts' production initially seemed very reminiscent of a Victoria Wood comedy
(Pat and Margaret or Dinnerladies), involving a group of women of different ages and backgrounds united
by their common experience of work. There was the flirty one, the shy one, the big bold brassy one; the kind of stereotypes
we might expect. All that was missing was the cast: Sian Reeves (Brenda) and Sharon Percy (Freda) were no substitute
for Wood's regular repertory company, including Celia Imrie, Susie Blake or Julie Walters.
The play promised more than it delivered; this being 1970, the women's morals
and attitudes towards sex were still shaped by post-1945 puritanism that simply didn't matter a decade later. Flirting
was permissable, but marriage and fidelity still mattered. Although the outing provided an excuse for people to let their
hair down, the whole event looked like turning into a damp squib.
But then something dramatic happened, as Freda died in the middle of the
trip. No one wanted to admit how it happened, but the play's mood instantly changed. At one level it became something of a
wild farce, as the women and their employers searched for a way to dispose of the corpse without incriminating themselves.
The dialogue became more quick-fire; the characters interrupted one another, their voices becoming more and more shrill
as they spoke. At length they decided to drop it into the river; even if the corpse would be discovered later on, there was
nothing to connect it to them. The play ended with the cast heaving a collective sigh of relief once the deed had been accomplished.
However Roberts cross-cut this mood with a series of reflective scenes, as the women
mourned the loss of a good friend and colleague. It took a bereavement to make them aware of the importance of group identity,
that did not involve the Italian management. Liverpool in 1970 was a strictly stratified world where gender and class
mattered, particularly in times of adversity.
Sometimes this contrast in tone seemed a trifle awkward, as if Roberts were trying
to cram too many thematic points into a short (59-minute) running time, but we were left with the impression that the women
would continue to look out for one another, despite losing one of their number. Perhaps the farcical aspect of the play was
necessary as a means of reminding them and us of the significance of collectivity.
