Ladies That Dig – Cast, Doncaster

Writer: Joyce Branagh

Director: Kirstie Davis

Having toured the North successfully withLadies that Bus,the same team is doing the same thing with this latest show, almost a vox pop at times with over 300 people interviewed. The four players, Joyce Branagh, Riana Duce, Lisa Howard and Helen Longworth, switch from character to character, not at breakneck speed (though there are a few quick changes), and explore the worlds of gardeners, allotmenteers, archaeologists, grave-diggers and detectorists. It’s very much a play based on teamwork: “the Ladies that… Company” are credited alongside Joyce Branagh as writers and Helen Longworth supplies the nicely varied original music, including a couple of rampaging comic songs where Zak Yates’ choreography comes into its own.

The recurrent characters are four allotmenteers who share their stories with us: the ex-army medic who suffered a mental collapse, the loner without friends, and so on. It soon becomes apparent that the theme of the play is the therapeutic value of life close to the soil. Later a young girl is rescued from homelessness after sleeping in one of the allotment sheds.

An archaeologist digs up a valuable medieval gold book mark, to be attached to a book of prayers for safe child birth, and the medieval lady in question drifts through a scene where women are talking of losing a child and supplies the name of her child. Ultimately, she links up with the discoverer in a moving scene which was previously very funny. A grave-digger talks of her eight years in post and the difficulty (and pride) of burying someone really important to you.

For all thisLadies that Dig is far from being a gloomy watch. Most often the tone is gently amusing and hopeful, though landing on serious issues from time to time. All four actors switch characters (and, occasionally, accents) with a lightness of touch and play off each other with the dexterity of an established team. Incidentally the programme boasts a “Ladies that…” logo which suggests that next year we can look forward to the third in this series.

The Doncaster date was in the theatre’s Second Space – packed out – and much of the tour takes in relatively informal venues. So Louie Whitemore places a value on simplicity in her designs – two walls with garden tools and a medley of boxes that can convert to a garden scene and that open up to let the ladies dig! Kirstie Davis directs in the spirit of someone who says in the programme, “This year I am going to plant Hope”.

Reviewed on 14th February 2023.