“Band Of Gold” by Kay Mellor
Nottingham Theatre Royal

Kay Mellor’s “Band of Gold” was a big TV hit in the mid-Nineties. Today the TV characters are part of an exciting new stage production.

Inspired by research into the lives and experiences of sex workers on the streets of Leeds and Bradford, the play tells the story of four very different women in a time of minimum wages and ineffective financial support services.

These are independent women who value their time at more than just a few pounds an hour — and if that means earning better money through the oldest game in business, then that is what they need to do to pay the bills and get out of debt.

I’ll admit that I didn’t see the TV series, so this is all new to me.Not seeing the original TV series and not knowing the characters didn't matter because these characters are so well written that it does not take long to discover who they are and their past.

Kay Mellor is one of those writers who writes so well for women, and not just women, but powerful women. Her male characters are almost secondary, even though they are essential to the plot of course, you can tell that they are all written with an inbuilt flaw.

Set in Bradford in the early Nineties, Rose, played by Gaynor Faye is patrolling “The Lane”. She is in charge and lets everyone know that this is her patch and she is the boss!

I have seen, like any other soap fan, Gaynor on TV in "Emmerdale" and "Corrie" but she owns the stage here and looks, and acts completely different to any soap episode I've seen her in. There's also a conclusion to her story that I didn't expect.

Laurie Brett (Anita) is the mother hen figure of the three. She lives in a flat paid for by her married lover, George, played by Mark Sheals. Anita provides much of the wit in this play packed with grit and also gets to air some vocal talents as Anita is also a karaoke fan. Many will recognise Laurie from Eastenders where she played Jane Beale.

Sacha Parkinson (Gina) has debts. She has split up with her husband Steve and she has just started a new job selling Avon, door to door. Her Mum, Joyce, looks after Gina and Steve's child so that Gina can work. She is paying off the loan shark who is offering an alternative to money in payments, but Gina is a good girl. A real good girl!

Emma Osman (Carol) looks amazing in whatever she wears, and I must admit, the costumes in this show are pretty amazing for all the girls. i mention this from an artistic viewpoint by the way!. Carol is feisty and does everything she can to keep her young daughter blindsided by her occupation, always wanting a better life for her daughter than she has for herself. She is blunt in her description of what she has to do but has her eye on a better life for the two of them. This is Emma's first tour and she is nailing it.

Shayne Ward plays Inspector Newall who has returned to his old stomping ground to investigate the murder of a prostitute. But Newall has history not only in the area but with Carol. We soon discover Newall's back history and why he had to move away.

Kieron Richardson (Steve) is Gina's estranged husband, a real bully and nasty piece of work who has slapped Gina around a bit. He really morphs into the nasty character mould and you get a real feeling of unease about Steve. Now what surprised me is that this part is Keiron's first stage role, a medium that he looks at real ease with.

Andrew Dunn, no stranger to the Nottingham Theatre Royal, plays Ian Barraclough, a councillor who may just be the answer to Carol's future and escape from her current occupation, but here's a character that may not be as white as he is painted. A councillor with vices? Who'd have thought?

Olwen May plays Joyce, Gina's mum, and she delivers some quite shocking lines in the sense of what is expected from a woman from the early nineties. Still in the mind's eye that a woman should have man to take care of a woman, even though she hates her own husband but has stayed with him because that is what she feels is "the right thing to do".

Two other actors worthy of a mention are Steve Garti who plays Curly, a character who hangs around the bar where "all the action is". Curly is not from the area and visits on a regular basis from out of town, but why would he do that?

The other is Mark Sheals who plays George, Anita's married lover, and another sleaze ball who also has something that he has been hiding from Anita, and his wife!

This play will have you hooked. Even though you know what is going to happen at the close of the first act, you feel that you are completely helpless to stop it, well you are, but you find your fingers digging into the Theatre Royal seats with the tension.

That tension continues throughout the second act, but as Kay Mellor states before the show starts, "no spoilers", so I'll leave it at that. Needless to say there are several red herrings and twists before the end of the show, but, boy is this one hell of a good show. Will you guess who is the guilty one?

It is gritty and very witty with some still relevant social commentary. Written and Directed by Kay Mellor, she really knows how to write for TV, which also transcends well to the stage.

Loved the set design (Janet Bird) which featured many sliding pieces of scenery which enabled the scenes to be changed with ease and smoothly; almost like a TV series would change from one scene to the next.

My first theatre outing of 2020 was a complete success, so whether you were a fan of the TV show or, like me, a Band Of Gold virgin, you will love this brilliant piece of dark theatre, And while the ladies have the svelte and bearded Ward to drool over, the male members (oops) of the audience have four very talented and glamorous lead actors to focus on.

“Band Of Gold” is at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Saturday 18 January.