When Kay
Mellor originally wrote Band of Gold for television in the mid 1990s it was
striking stuff. A group of sex workers propelled into the leading roles of a
Sunday night TV drama.
25 years on some
of the taboos are diluted by time and we are more familiar with the ideas that
Mellor has now rewritten for two hours on stage. Many of the original
characters are reincarnated, revolving around Anita, Rose and Carol. Drawing
together so many people into a new single, storyline results in some of the
characterisations being a little sketchy, but this central trio are portrayed
roundly and with great conviction by Laurie Brett, Gaynor Faye and Emma Osman.
Enter Gina,
played by Sacha Parkinson. She’s a young mother whose abusive partner Steve
(Kieron Richardson) drives her to seek a quick money making venture. It takes
some persuading, but she is soon working under Anita’s tutelage with some
success, much to the chagrin of Rose and Carol. All seems to be going
reasonably well when things begin to spiral out of control to tragic
consequences.
No spoilers
here, but suffice to say that a roll-call of reprobates from the original
series re-emerge to throw a collection of spanners in the works and, in true
crime drama fashion, any one of them could be the one who dunnit. Although the
pacing could at times do with a little more forward momentum, the staging
achieves some rapid scene changes and creates a satisfyingly dark backdrop for
the action.
The
dramaturgical process of bringing the work to stage is a little formulaic, and the
storytelling not entirely seamless, but the response of the audience shows that
it hits all the right notes with its emotional intentions. There is obvious
empathy with the four women at the heart of the story, and the rest of the
characters, whilst thinly fleshed out, certainly fulfil their dramatic
purposes. Richardson definitely puts some ‘welly’ into his hard-kicking
portrayal of Steve (they must get through quite a bit of furniture during the
tour) whilst Shayne Ward’s Inspector Newall brings obvious star value to the
show.
Live on
stage after all these years, Band of Gold may not be as much of a shocker as it
was in the late 20th century, but it still has the power to captivate an
audience. This production is at the Floral Pavilion until 29th February before
continuing its tour in Cheltenham, Milton Keynes and Bath.
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| Emma Osman, Laurie Brett and Gaynor Faye image (c) Ant Robling |
Star Rating:
3½ Stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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