Musical Geek - Musical Theatre Reviews

It is probably a sad indictment of the country that equality in its wider sense is still not quite where we would like it to be, despite all the hard work and pain suffered by the women at Ford Dagenham in 1968. However there is nothing sad about this production of Made in Dagenham by Star-Struck Theatre Company but, there is a deep vein of emotion, some powerful musical numbers and a story that I would challenge anybody not to be enthralled by. The root of the story is the fight (and I use the word unreservedly as it is a 'fight' in so many ways) by the women of the Ford Dagenham Plant to achieve equal pay with the men. You might think that should have been a given but, not in 1968 when females were still expected to run the house, bring up the kids, manage the finances and only take on a job as a last resort ! That isn't something that Rita O'Grady (played with passion by Vicky Bull) and her colleagues are happy with, I'm not sure that Rita expects to lead the off...

There is a little piece of the Philadelphia Underworld that has currently taken-up occupancy at the Kinver High School Theatre and the local convent has been dragged into this seedy world after a murder is witnessed and a singer needs to be hidden prior to the trial. Made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 Movie, Kinver Light Operatic Society finally manage to bring their much delayed version of Sister Act to the stage and its absolutely worth the wait. Attiye Passey's vivaciously flamboyant performance as Deloris Van Cartier is just the tip of a musical iceberg that smashes its way into a responsive audience, a voice that could blow the roof off any venue and eyes that draw you into the story, suggests perfect casting. Said story is all about the relationships built between Deloris and the rest of the nuns at the convent in which she now finds herself (much initially to her chagrin it must be said) isn't it ? And there is a rich array of characters and voices in this partic...