Once Upon a Time in Wigan (tour)

NOTE: The following review dates from February 2003 and this production’s original run at Manchester’s Contact Theatre. For current cast and venue information, see performance listings.

Music can capture an era and act as a reminder of how life used to be. Once Upon a Time in Wigan is all about soul; Northern Soul, mostly American black soul music, which changed the face of Wigan from 1973 to 1981. The music played at the Wigan Casino on a Saturday night provided the patrons with an escape from ‘glam-rock’ and ‘bloody Abba’. Over four million soul friends visited Wigan over eight years.

Maxine (Sally Carman) is a tough talking ‘soul sister’ who is brain dead by day- working in retail, but when Saturday comes she dances till she drops at the Wigan Casino. Northern Soul takes her mind off her troubled home life. Suzanne (Christine Roberts) is a shy, humorous girl who dreams of meeting the right bloke but is constantly dubbed ‘really nice’ thus destined to remain dancing on her own. Eugene (Richard Oldham) is always off his face, Northern Soul is his life. Danny (Steven Hillman) is one ‘helluva’ dancer, he lives for the moving lyrics of Saturday nights but away from the glitter ball strewn smoky dance floor his life consists of walking the dog and smoking dope.

Writer Nick Martin describes his play as a “labour of true love”. His raw, bittersweet dialogue enables the actors to take the audience back in time without the aid of a naff set or garish costumes. Featuring references to TV (The Odenin Line) and songs of the time, like “Mirror In The Bathroom”, is a very clever way of enabling the audience to relive their own memories and laugh along the way.

Paul Sadot directs at a steady pace and the piece showcases all the actors well. Carman gives the play a sardonic edge, Roberts is a real find, similar to Jessica Stephenson, Oldham conveys the power of Northern Soul music, and Hillman is understated but quite brilliant. Each of them convince you that the music and the all nighters were a way of life as opposed to a bunch of old records, and boy can they dance.

Once Upon A Time In Wigan is one of the best new plays to hit the stage in a long time and deserves to have ‘em queuing like they used to outside the Wigan Casino. This is a Northern Saturday Night Fever with wit, soul, flares and dirty toilets.

– Glenn Meads (reviewed at Manchester’s Contact Theatre)