Blonde Bombshells of 1943

Synopsis

Blonde Bombshells of 1943 looks back at the early years of the Blonde Bombshells, the most glamorous swing band in the land. Elizabeth, now a grandmother, but then a naïve schoolgirl in Leeds, remembers it as the most exciting and frightening time in her life. Never before had she met an upper-class deb, a nun and a man wearing a frock, all in the same room and all while the bombs were falling. Music may be the food of lots of things as well. Memories, regrets, catastrophes, laughter and narrow escapes. This especially so when it's the music of Fats Waller, the Andrew Sisters and Glenn Miller - not forgetting Flanagan and Allen and George Formby. What Elizabeth learns from her memories is simple; inside every respectable middle-aged woman, there's a Blonde Bombshell screaming to get out.

Our Review:

17 April 2013

Oldham Coliseum’s co-production with the New Vic Theatre in Newcastle under Lyme is another swinging success for this beautifully recently refurbished theatre at the foot of the Pennines.

Alan Plater’s play with music is the story of a war time all girl dance band need to recruit four new members in time for an important engagement that evening.  Cue a round of amusing auditions with four new ladies, each with their own personalities and stories to swell the band’s range of instruments and vocal.

Unfortunately we do not get to know the four original members of the band well until the end of Act One and the beginning of Act Two. This makes it difficult to form an attachment to the characters or feel empathy for them as they discuss briefly their personal situations during war time. However, this does not detract from the enjoyment of the show as there is little emphasis of the depth of character or the background story as essentially, the play...

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