Ladies’ Day

A comedy by Amanda Whittington
Thursday 11 November 2021 - Saturday 13 November 2021
Faringdon Junior School, 26 Gloucester Street, Faringdon SN7 7HY
Directed by Sarah Varnom
Producer: Peter Webster

Performances start 7:30 pm. Doors open 30 minutes earlier.
Tickets: £12. No concessions. A drink and printed programme is included.
Tickets were available from our Online Box Office.
The play is suitable for teenagers or older children but not really for the very young.

An exuberant comedy about four likely lasses from the Hull fish docks on a day trip to the races. Work, love and life are just one long, hard slog for the fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda. But their fortunes are set to change when Linda finds tickets to Ladies’ Day at Royal Ascot the year it relocated to York. Out go the hairnets, overalls and wellies as the four ditch work, do themselves up to the nines and head off to the races for a drink, a flirt and a flutter. If their luck holds, they could hit the jackpot – and more besides…

This production was postponed last year due to restrictions created by the coronavirus pandemic and the repeat performance intended to go to Canada also had to be cancelled.

Sarah Couzens was the District 12 winner for the Sybil Conway award for ‘Best Female in a Play’; for her performance as Pearl in ‘Ladies’ Day’.

Sally Clifford-Smith from Southampton (family in Faringdon)

Rating:

Thursday evening "A fun evening"

I thought the length was just right. I could hear and see very well. The music was at a good volume. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would go to another show.

Julia Burn from Faringdon

Rating:

Thursday evening "First rate entertainment"

A well acted, well staged production; we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Sue from Coventry

Rating:

Thursday evening "A good evening's entertainment!"

A great evening, such fun! I thought the staging was innovative and moved the storyline on rather than lots of scene/prop changes. The music was well chosen and perfect for audience participation. It was clear that the cast enjoyed the evening as much as we did, a sign of a good direction. FDS had been very thoughtful with their seating plan to ensure the audience felt comfortable. I, for one, really appreciated this.

Katie from Abingdon on Thames

Rating:

Thursday evening "Excellent, professional standard of entertainment."

Enjoyed every moment – The casting and scenery, props etc was of high quality and the sound carried well. The event was well organised. Obvious that it is a cohesive team of willing workers to put on such a great performance. Very much appreciated.

Amy from Witney

Rating:

Thursday evening "Thoroughly entertained"

I had a lovely evening on the opening night of Ladies' Day. I thought all of the characters came across really well and I was captivated by the individual stories. It was well organised and I felt it was good value for money. I'm looking forward to the next one.

A Lowe from Streatley

Rating:

Thursday evening "A thoroughly enjoyable evening out from start to finish."

As a group of 4 we all thought you got the performance/production absolutely spot on! Congratulations to a all concerned.

Wendy Turner from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "Very entertaining. Acting of a high standard"

Slightly difficult to hear but we were sat at the back. Hard of hearing folk may not be able to hear. Costumes and acting all excellent and if a high standard.

Keeley from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "Enjoyable night out"

Very good performance, very impressed by amount of dialogue learnt. Very good characterisation by 4 leading ladies.

Sheila from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "An Enjoyable Evening"

“Ladies Day” put on by Faringdon Dramatic Society was absolutely hilarious. I so look forward to the next production.

Dawn Haley from Minster Lovell

Rating:

Friday evening "Great Performance"

My friends and I thought the performance was excellent, with the parts well cast. It was hard to believe that it was not a professional performance. We could hear and see very well and the set and costumes complimented the actors characters. The lighting and sound recordings were good. Well done to everyone.

Paul Gray from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "Old fashioned fun with a twist"

It was really good with some wonderful individual performances. So be of good heart actors. For future reference I think trying to get the timing perfect on some of the lines especially humorous ones is always important. Costumes and set were really good, made the right feel with just a few props. The racing commentary was important in this play and I feel that was the one negative. It needed to fade in and fit in. It was all too stark. Overall though, great play well acted.

Bethia Thomas from Faringdon

Rating:

Friday evening "A great comeback for FDS!"

I was so happy to be able to join you for the first and long awaited production since the pandemic began. It was a wonderful antidote to all the woes we have experienced and a much needed laugh for a very appreciative audience. This heart warming comedy was performed with all the charm of previous productions and it really touched many – performances all round were excellent, but I always have my favourites!

Christine Bishop from Ducklington

Rating:

Saturday evening "A good laugh"

Really enjoyed our first visit to a FDS production. Felt I came away with 4 new friends and will be wondering how Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda's get on in the future.

Keith and Anne from Witney

Rating:

Saturday evening "A most enjoyable evening"

We thought it was an excellent production. The cast were brilliant and did a really good job with a lot of tricky dialogue. All the characters revealed their unexpected depths in an effective and moving way. Perhaps the script could have been pruned a little as it was a bit wordy in places without adding to the story. The performance was generally audible, once we had tuned into the accents. The costumes were good and the set gave the right feel of location. The sound effects were well done, particularly the racing bits. A most enjoyable evening – thank you! PS - It wasn't until we got home and looked at the tickets that we discovered we were entitled to a free drink!

Chris from Marlborough

Rating:

Saturday evening "Fun evening, excellent play and well acted with laughter and pathos"

Great play well acted and fun. Only slightly negative comment is the bits on the apron at the front lost a bit of atmosphere in portraying sensitive parts of the story. I appreciate that it’s difficult staging plays with the limited resources. The acting was great but I felt it would have benefited from being on the stage to get a more intimate feel with lighting and slight distance from the audience. That said we are just about to stage this play in Marlborough and I hope our performance is as delightful as yours.

Andrew Bayliss from Faringdon

Rating:

Saturday evening "Brilliant night out"

Fantastic performance from all the cast. Length was just right and the sound effects of the race were brilliant.

Sue from Faringdon

Rating:

Saturday evening "An entertaining evening"

The length of the play was about right. The actors showed great enthusiasm and delivered their lines well; some had quite lengthy monologues to learn. The accents of the characters were portrayed well throughout the play.

Sal from Faringdon

Rating:

Saturday evening "Awesome"

Thanks again to FDS for putting on yet another great production! We absolutely loved all of it from the beginning to the end …. always happy to watch the team. We laughed a few times and I shed a tear too, but it was worth it! The best scene for me was Patrick (Jack) and Linda (Verity) …… absolutely brilliant and the Irish accent was “fecking” amazing ….. well done son, you did us proud. Looking forward to the next production. xx