Girls Behind @ The Lowry

Manchester Evening News - Julia Taylor - 4/9/2007

IF you enjoyed ‘Girls Night’ at The Lowry in March, you’ll enjoy ‘Girls Behind', a new musical about a fictional singing trio, ‘The Diamonds’, even better.
The characters are more real and less crude.  Louise Roche who wrote both of them has an instinctive understanding of what makes women tick.
The action is skilfully and chumily carried out by three well-known figures who can make you laugh and wow you with their singing even though their relationship with one another isn’t always smooth.
For 20 years, since their schooldays, these three have knitted a friendship by sharing their smiles and tears.  But the friendship is tested to breaking point when one of the three is singled out for centre stage. Who might this be? Can their friendship survive?
Celebrities play all three women.
We have Maureen Nolan, who with her sisters sang with ‘The Nolans’, one of the first girlbands.  Maureen knows exactly how to capture an audience with a popular song whether in the trio or alone.  As Sadie, she plays the tough girl with the heart of gold, probably the most mature of the three characters.  Her version of ‘Shout’ was a resounding success as she ran up the aisles in a glittering dress.
Donna Hazelton is the stuck up Lois. She impacts all the more for playing her in an exaggerated way. Lois is the self-centred one who, at first, seems more interested in a 24-carat ring than a 24-carat love affair.  They say pride comes before a fall and she does just that when she has too much to drink.  Donna was a winner in the Channel 4 Show, ‘Musicality’ and this musical gives her a chance to show off her own musicality especially when she sings 'Stay With Me Baby'.
Sue Devaney (Casualty and Dinner Ladies) plays Serena, the least confident but definitely the funniest one especially when she describes the pitfalls of baby-making with her moped-riding boyfriend, Gary.  She’s been hiding her light under a bushel for her voice is surprisingly good. Her rendition of 'You’ve Got A Friend' is inspiring.
The storyline is a bit thin but there is a happy ending and it provides the excuse to hear some lovely songs.   The music is never too loud and the harmonies are perfect - the repertoire both rousing and beautiful.
Unlike its sister show, ‘Girls Behind' can be enjoyed by both sexes and I would urge men to come along with their partners as they’ll enjoy it too.

Maureen Nolan, Donna Hazelton and Sue Devaney in Girls Behind 2007 UK tour  (photo karen parker www.karenparker.co.uk)

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DIAMONDS FOREVER?
HULL DAILY MAIL - 21 November 2007

Girls Behind turned out to be a much deeper affair and was more enjoyable as a result.

The story centres around three lifelong friends - rich girl Lois (Donna Hazelton), whose dad owns a sausage factory; working girl Sadie (Maureen Nolan), whose parents had eyes only for each other and not for her, leaving her scared of loving and being loved; and Serena (Sue Devaney), who never dreamed any man could ever fancy her.

For their own reasons, each girl lived for Friday nights when they stepped out on stage at a local club ... as singing trio The Diamonds.

 All the action - which spans many years - takes place in the grotty backstage dressing room at the club. Each Friday the girls turn up, get ready, walk on stage to sing to us, their club audience, get changed and go back home to face their problems.

Although each woman had a wonderfully loud singing voice, for me it was their "offstage" problems that I found myself concentrating upon and getting sucked into.

At first, Lois got on my nerves - she was so over the top and fussy, especially when given the lead singer role in The Diamonds, much to the disgust of the other two. But behind that facade was a lonely, sad woman who just wanted to be loved. And, as it turns out, it was that lead singer role that caused many problems and tore the girls apart, before, eventually, bringing them back together.

Men featured heavily in the show, but we never caught a glimpse of Eddie, Gary or Sam. It didn't matter. It was a couple of hours of funny one-liners, great songs and a true-to-life storyline. Welcome escapism - you can't ask for more from a night at the theatre.

Hull New Theatre, Kingston Square, Hull

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Girls Behind by Louise Roche
Review by Ann Bawtree   Posted by Thepublicreviews.co.uk

New Wimbledon Theatre – Tour   Directed by Jack Randle
Can anything good come out of Milton Keynes? Answer: Certainly. The Milton Keynes Theatre Productions musical Girls Behind (no apostrophe) is delightful entertainment. Louise Roche has created three loveable young girls trying their luck as a singing group whose first gig is at the local Star Club. Over ten years they develop from gingham clad innocents into savvy women who eventually find their places in life, which are not what they imagined or aimed for. Lois, Sadie and Serena have in common their friendship and their music but also none too happy childhoods.
Sadie had dysfunctional parents, Lois is the poor little rich girl while Serena, was put into care at the age of seven for no discernable reason. Louise Roche also cleverly gives us at least nine other characters implied through the girls’ conversations.
The choice of songs is so appropriate that the story could have been written around them. Under the musical direction of Brendan McCormack they are not ear splittingly loud, despite the wardrobe sized amplifiers. Alex Eales simple set of the girl’s dressing room with the club’s stage denoted by the fall of a curtain of silver streamers is enhanced by Tony Simpson’s cruelly flat lighting which instantly changes to glamourous spots for the songs. The changes of costume speak volumes not only about the progress of the girls’ careers but also of their real lives. Look out particularly for the footwear!
The characters are portrayed clearly but subtly. We rejoice with Donna Hazelton’s Lois when she performs her happiest number with apparently uncontrolled leaping, worthy of Dawn French at her most exuberant. Yet we are sorry for her when her fortunes change and she tries to become hard. No wonder she did so well in Channel 4's Musicality. If, as the programme says, Maureen Nolan supported Sinatra in 1975 it was either as a babe in arms or she is the spirit of youth. If anyone believes that only Lulu can sing Shout they should think again. Sue Devaney’s depiction of Serena, the pint sized peacemaker, unsentimentally shows her character making a happy life out of emotional deprivation.
Jack Randle (director) keeps the show well paced and can move us on a week or five years by one character going off stage and coming back on again. With the simple but effective choreography of Debbie Young, this production would be less expensive than most to put on. All you would need is three very talented performers.
This is not necessarily a show for everyone, but is one you could take anybody to, however young or old. How refreshing to find a modern author whose rudest word is s**t and whose blasphemy is mild, if that is not a contradiction in terms. Anyone who enjoyed Mama Mia would enjoy Girls Behind and we sat though the whole evening with happy grins on our faces with only the occasional feeling of how sad... but true.

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Girls Behind 2007 tour was a Goodnights Entertainment Ltd / Milton Keynes Theatre Productions Ltd Co-Production

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There are some unofficially recorded bits of the show on YouTube - whilst we do not condone the illicit recording of performances of our plays on what appears to be a mobile phone -its nice to be reminded how much the audience loved it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TmXk9JvFsA&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbxL0jd_6LU

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Girls Behind reviews 2005

Medium Scale UK tour starring Catherine Rice, Penelope Woodman and Laura Sheppard

Norwich Playhouse

SUZIE HOSIER - Norwich Evening Telegraph 2005

“Chick Lit”-style entertainment came to the stage with playwright (and ex-UEA student) Louise Roche's witty and touching story of a singing trio's friendship tested to the limit by lies, ambition and, of course, men!

Sanning 10 years, we followed the highs and lows in the relationship of “The Diamonds” - Sadie, Lois and Serena. Their differing personalities, hang-ups and dreams were convincingly and entertainingly portrayed, and women of all ages will have found something to relate to.

Men, too, will have gained a great insight into what women really talk to each other about and why female camaraderie is so important.

As the story unfolded through a well-thought-out mix of conversation, monologues and songs, we came to understand and indeed empathise with the reasons why Lois (Penelope Woodman) was so self-absorbed and status-driven, why Sadie (Catherine Rice) used her sharp tongue and wit to mask a hard and tragic past, and why good-natured Serena (Laura Sheppard) found herself caught in the middle.

How they chose to deal with the resulting, inevitable breakdown in relations was skilfully delivered through a hilarious script that had us laughing and crying with them.

But what made Girls Behind a really great night out was the fantastic and well-executed string of songs. The cast proved they are great all-rounders with powerful singing voices, and left the audience suitably impressed.

Thank you yet again for a fantastic evening. I had tears rolling down my face! Can't decide which one I like better now, Girls Night or Girls Behind. Took a couple of friends that hadn't been before and they thought it was brilliant. One whispered to me that there are people standing up and dancing. I just laughed at her and said you haven't seen anything wait till you go to Girls Night.

The other friend that came thought the theatre would be boring and you have changed her mind - she wants to go to see lots of other shows now.

Good luck with the tour and congrats. I thought it was good at Stantonbury but thought last night was much better!

Love from Sarah Marshall x

A fabulous show and fascinating expose of women's friendships. We are very complex beings are we not?

Hope you enjoyed the thunderous applause and felt justifiably proud.

Laughs and smiles

Mo Shapiro Emotional Fitness Specialist

Hi - I was at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon tonight to see Girls Behind, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I went with a bunch of girls from work - we had already seen Girls Night a few months ago, which was great fun.

Well done to everyone involved, an absolutely brilliant performance.

Dilys Jones

I am a school teacher who recently saw Girls Behind at The Beck in Hayes. I loved the writing and thought that my AS students would do a brilliant job of performing an extract for their examination. Is the play published yet? If not is it likely to be? Do you have any other plays written for all female cast or that contain good scenes for all girls? Who is your publisher and who deals with your licences for productions?

Lorna Pearson-Hall Head of Drama, The Brigidine School

photos of 2005 production by Jack Randle

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'Behind' - Stantonbury Theatre, Milton Keynes.

April 2004

Reviewer: Sarah Bowron - For UKTheatrenet 2004

(original pilot production: Cathy McManamon, Natasha Seale, Lisa Howard)

“Behind” is a fun and entertaining evening out. Produced by Goodnights Entertainment, “Behind” is the latest production following on from their previous success “Girls Night”. The trend seems to be lovely meaty parts for women. The writer, Louise Roche, brings out both the tragedy and humour that make our lives what they are. The comedy works because we have been in those situations and felt those feelings and we are laughing at ourselves more than anything.

The play is set in the dressing room of the Friday night venue where ’The Diamonds’, a three-girl group, perform every week. The girls are all best friends, and then, inevitably, men and children rear their ugly heads and begin to shape them. They still remain friends, but have secrets and tell lies to cover the secrets.

Serena is an obsessive and timid character who is constantly doing something, be it cleaning or eating strange food. She’s the piggy in the middle and knows the other two’s secrets. We have great empathy for Serena and Cathy McManamon is great at playing her and has a powerful voice to match.

Sadie is the one who wishes she was the lead singer, but instead falls in love with the lead singers fiancé. Natasha Seale really comes into her own in the second act when she has some meaty scenes and emotional songs.

Lois is the lead singer, who seems to succeed in her career but not much else. Lisa Howard is a superb actress who is very easy to watch.

The play zips along at a smart pace and has a very realistic set to match.

There was a full house the night I went, so someone’s doing something right, as this is the Premiere of a new play with a relatively unknown cast and Joan Collins is at the main theatre in Milton Keynes.

Catch it if you can. Hopefully, someone will fund this play with fab middle of the road songs, so the rest of the country can see it.

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'Girls Behind' Set Design 2004, 2005 & 2007 Alex Eales

'Girls Behind'  Lighting Design 2004, 2005 & 2007 Tony Simpson www.tonysimpson.com

'Girls Behind' Production Manager 2007 John Young www.theambassadors.com

Thanks to David Middleton of Sorted Technical Services for the 2004 & 2005 productions www.sorted-technical-services.co.uk