Preview - Miss Crispy 1988 - Gala Theatre

Journey back to the 1980s for a play that is packed full of fun and flavour

Shoulder pads, tiaras and cheese and onion crisps – beauty pageants and North East factory lines collide in a must-see play set in the 1980s.

Miss Crispy 1988 tells the story of a group of female friends whose working life at a Teesside crisp factory is turned upside down when they are invited to enter a beauty contest. 

The production is set to entertain audiences at Durham’s Gala Theatre at 7.30pm on Friday 17 January and is inspired by the stories of workers at The Crispy – the nickname given to the KP crisps factory in Billingham. 

The factory was a major employer in the area in the 1980s and theatregoers can look forward to big hair, legwarmers and plenty of Northern wit in this nostalgic yet moving comedy about female friendship, love and overcoming adversity. 

Miss Crispy 1988 was written by David Tuffnell and is produced by Less is More, a Middlesbrough-based theatre company with a passion for telling stories from working-class communities. It received rave reviews when it first toured the region in 2013, and the Less is More team cannot wait to bring the show to the Gala.

The theatre is close to the heart of the play’s director Laura Lonsdale, who is currently appearing as the genie in this year’s Gala pantomime, Aladdin. Laura previously taught at the Gala Theatre Stage School and has gone on to cast many former students in the shows she has directed over the years. 

Laura, from Middlesbrough, said: “It’s always a joy to come to the Gala Theatre. County Durham audiences are a pleasure to perform to and I know they will love Miss Crispy 1988. It’s the tenth anniversary of Less is More this year and what better way to celebrate than to tour a show that epitomises what we are all about; honesty, drama and humour.”

 

David added: “I think Miss Crispy has received such a positive reaction because it’s a story that is set in our region with characters people can relate to. Those of us who lived through the 1980s will enjoy the sense of nostalgia it evokes – the music, the clothes, the big perms.  

“However, the 1980s were also an important period in history and a time of great change, especially for women. This is explored in the play through the thoughts, experiences and ambitions of five unique but very relatable female characters.”

Tickets for Miss Crispy 1988 are priced at £15, £13 for concessions and £12 for Gala members. To book, visit www.galadurham.co.uk or call 03000 266 600.

Rent - Gala Theatre Durham - Review

Rent
Gala Theatre Durham
29th July 2017

GTSS Production
My son (the former Reluctant Teenager) reminded me that when he first told me that he wanted to see a performance of this musical, and asked if I had heard of it, I (allegedly) said, "isn't that the rude one?" So you might think it something of a bold move by GTSS Director Kate Sorahan to choose this
as the summer show. It is not just a show with pretty adult themes - AIDS, prostitution, sexuality, anarchy, -  it is also a pretty demanding show musically. The programme lists 25 musical numbers in the first act alone. With a cast ranging in age from just 14 to 20 years would the Gala Stage School have the skill and stamina to do it justice? This is the School Edition, so some of the language has been modified, and a verse or two omitted from one of the songs, but other than that it does not differ from the full version.

Set in the Bohemian artist's community in New York at the end of the twentieth century, RENT follows a year in the lives of a group of friends. Recorded by Mark (Luke Henderson), for his documentary film, they struggle to find money to live, find ways to cope with the knowledge that they are HIV positive or worse, and that they will almost certainly not have a long life. They live day to day on the margins of society, with the knowledge that life is not permanent. So they live for the day taking what comfort they can, wherever they can, however they can, fighting for what they believe, for their way of life and for those who are marginalised by the authorities and whose voices are not heard. It sounds bleak, and at times it is, but it is also joyous and life affirming, as they each find a way to follow their dream.

So, can such a young cast deliver? You bet your sweet ass they can!

From the first note we are swept up into the world of Rent. We watch as they fall in and out of love, struggling to cope with friendships, lovers, ex-lovers, parents. It is an emotional, exhilarating, heart-breaking rollercoaster of a musical and the audience feels every joy and every pain along the way.

For such a young cast they give astounding performances. There is not a single actor or actress who doesn't shine on stage, but special mention has to be made of Stephen Robson, his performance is absolutely brilliant as the cross-dressing Angel. He has dance moves to die for and I swear there is not a dry eye in the house in Act Two.
Georgia Lennon is excellent in the role of Mimi, and Amy George as Maureen, gives a fantastic and funny performance of the avant-garde Over the Moon (based on the nursery rhyme the Cat and the Fiddle). It feels unfair to single out any performer but these are my three favourites from an extremely talented cast.

If you can still get one, buy a ticket for this - it is worth every penny and more. You see will a fabulous show performed most surely by some of the future stars of the West End.

Rent runs until 5th August. Tickets are £14.50 and are available (but be quick!) from the Gala Box Office.

Denise Sparrowhawk