"Ladies Unleashed" by Amanda Whittington.

Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouch.

Pearl, Jan and Linda are enjoying a long-awaited break on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Pearl and Jan want to celebrate Linda’s wedding which is in a few days’ time. Linda doesn’t want to celebrate at all, she just wants a quiet weekend away. Suddenly a surprise visitor turns up. They haven't seen Shelley for years, and their retreat becomes a reunion – and pretty soon, a riot.

But a lot has changed since they were last together and, cut off from the mainland, tensions rise with the tide. As the sky darkens, the island grows restless with echoes of the past. When the sun comes up, will this quartet still be friends?

A subplot, set in the distant past, involves two Lindisfarne herring girls—Mabel and Daisy. Mabel dreams of music-hall stardom in London, while Daisy is trapped not only by circumstance but also by her own religious convictions.

This is third in the "Ladies" trilogy written by Amanda Whittington, following on from "Ladies Day" and "Ladies Down Under". Both of these I've seen, but this is the first time that I've seen this play.

I don't know if it's because I am from where I am that I just really enjoy, and find funny Northern writing and the humour that goes with that comedy. Barry Hines, Alan Ayckbourn, Joe Orton, Alan Bennett, John Godber and Amanda Whittington are among some of my favourite writers.

Amanda writes women's characters exceedingly well, which is why the majority of Amanda's plays feature women at the fore, many of them are all female, as this is. I actually feel that I know these characters, especially after having seen the two previous plays in this group. What I also love is that Amanda writes in her native tongue for her characters.

This is a real ensemble production and it's impossible to elevate any one of the actors, or characters, above the others. It's almost like placing a group of friends, without their knowledge, under a microscope and watching them. You see the good as well as the bad traits of the specimens on the slide. Maybe the makers of "Big Brother" got their idea from reading Amanda's books!

Claire Kavanagh (Pearl),  Nicky Scott Miller (Shelley), Mercedes Cook (Linda), Lauren Murphy (Daisy/Ali), Greta Bosma (Mabel/Frankie) and Tracey Hasler (Jan) are like a well oiled machine, delivering the excellent script with natural comedy, but also bringing the pathos. Now, I did say that this was an all female cast, but we did hear the voice acting of Ron Ghosh as the station announcer, whose well timed interruptions at the start of the play reminded me of many train journeys I've been involved with, and bringing wry smiles to my face. Ron is also responsible for the stage management.

There were a few prompts from the wings, but when you realise just how wordy the play is, and this was opening night, I've every confidence that Fran Williams, the prompt, will soon not be needed.

One thing that I had not rostered into my expectations of this production was the musical content and Greta, who played Mabel and her dreams of music hall stardom has an impressive voice. Her renditions of the music hall songs, complete with the Northern accent, were like receiving a virtual hug. 

These old songs rubbed along nicely with the other musical sound bites that played during the scene changes. What tied the song choices in nicely with the play was that the songs were all by women; there were cover versions and popular hits including diverse performances from The Puppini Sisters and Tina Turner. A nice touch by Director Mark Stephens, who I could have talked to all evening about music, but there was a play to enjoy.

Mark was assisted in directing duties by Fran Williams and the Musical Director Julie Holland.

I had to smile at some of the costumes, especially Shelley's, sourced by Karen Heath.

Set design is by Mark Stephens. I've never been to Holy Island on Lindisfarne, but if this set is what it looks like, it has a Mediterranean feel and look about it. Set as a multi level design it gives the actors different levels to work on, as well as clever use of the auditorium for some scene performances.

I'd only been to the Venture Theatre once before, for "Handbagged", their last production, and was pleasantly surprised to find there is a full raised stage and raked seating, making the whole area seem so much bigger than I remembered.

Sound operation is by Peter Robson and the Lighting design by Nikki Callaghan is operated by Griffin Bailey.

Another beautifully crafted piece of theatre from one of my favourite playwrights, and delivered by a talented group of actors who have a very natural technique of performance levels.

"Ladies Unleashed" is at the Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouch until Saturday 8 June and then from Wednesday 12th to Saturday 15 June.