Dinnerladies: Second Helpings (tour – Ipswich)
Second helpings is the official description of the new touring production based on Victoria Woods’ successful sit-com series. And, just like the extras piled onto your plate, it’s better than the first serving. There’s less of a feel of a television clone, and much more of the sense that this is a play for the stage – both in David Graham’s direction of the action and the performances themselves..
In this context Philippa from the ill-omened HR department (Rebecca Wingate) is a good example of a stereotype – but one who across in this version as a young woman with real personality and a sense of conflicting responsibilities. Emily Houghton as the “I’m not bovvered” Twink, Mark Huckett as Norman, the baker’s man with more phobias than loaves and Barrie Palmer as Stan, dab-hand with a screwdriver but less nimble with relationships, also make their mark.
Bren has a mother from hell, the dipso, nympho Petula. Sue Devaney has a whale of a time with the pocket-size horror, so wayward that her final bowing-out makes perfect sense in its own ludicrous context. Malvern Hostick’s ultra-realistic set helps to keep the whole show taut, as do the concentration of time and the inter-weaving of the various plot strands.
