I received an invite from Hull Truck Theatre this week to go and see their latest production Ladies Unleashed. It’s Hull Truck so I knew it was going to be good but wow, it was fantastic!
We opened in Hull Paragon Station with the usual announcement over the tannoy that the train our characters were to catch was delayed. Cue laughter from an audience who must have regularly heard that over the years. We then meet Pearl, Jan, and Linda who are all going to travel to Holy Island in Northumberland for Linda’s wedding. Eventually, our ladies catch their train and are then left on Doncaster station. There were up to this point lots of jokes about trains, Hull, and travelling.
Our trio finally arrive on Holy Island to find their Airbnb already occupied, seemingly double booked by a Scouser with her two children and her shopping already delivered by Tesco. There was no room at any other place on the island and our ladies settle on the quayside. We learn that they all met whilst working in a fish processing factory on Hessle Road. Linda, whose nuptials it was had decided on Holy Island as she was interested in the history of “The Herring Girls” who had followed the herring fleet fishing the North Sea for herring. The girls would follow the fleet and gut and prepare the fish.
It was around this point that two characters ran across the stage, in Victorian dress, they were two herring girls. From now on their story intertwined with our characters. Along comes another character, Shelley, who had come all the way from Australia for the wedding. It turns out she didn’t travel from Australia but from Scarborough where she had ended up working. Her dream of travelling the world unfulfilled. This story combined with that of one of the Herring Girls, Mabel who dreamed of getting to the top of the bill on a Music Hall. We were treated to her show which brought a lovely interlude.
Another story intertwining was of Daisy (the other Herring Girl) who Mabel befriends and they dream of running off to London. We learn that Pearl, like Daisy had become pregnant and had to marry the baby’s father. We also learn of Jan’s past and that her daughter of whom she is so proud that she went Cambridge uni and had a high-powered job, only because Jan ended up as a working girl selling her body. She connected with Shelley who had also been on the game to survive.
The subjects worked through in this play, written by Amanda Whittington, were dark and at times grim but worked with the typical humour that you find in Hull. Sometimes dark humour and sometimes just outright daft. As an audience we were gripped from the start. We didn’t know how this was going to work out but the journey we took was brilliant. We learnt about the forerunners to the women who worked in the factory’s on Hessle Road, whose lives were surprisingly similar. It may be a different century but the issues were still the same.
The cast were mostly local and were absolutely fab. I particularly warmed to Pearl (Fenella Norman) who was very down to earth. They all worked really well together. They were joined by Gemma Oaten who has made a great career for herself on TV (Casualty, Doctors, Emmerdale to name a few) who played the large as life Shelley so well. Martha Godber was also brilliant as Mabel, and her singing, acting and dancing stood out. The set was simple and well suited to assisting the story. Additionally, the auditorium being U shaped meant the audience felt close to the story.
I could watch this play again. It was so well written and acted. It started and all of a sudden it was the interval so engrossed were we it flew past. I can highly recommend the show (and the interval ice cream) so if you get a chance to see Ladies Unleashed then please do go and see it. You will not be disappointed.
Ladies Unleashed is running at Hull Truck Theatre until Saturday 22 October. More information and tickets can be found here >>
