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Ladies of Letters starring Tessa Peake-Jones and Gwyneth Strong
24th May 2022 - 28th May 2022
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An Yvonne Arnaud Theatre production
Ladies of Letters
by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman
Adapted by Jonathan Harvey (Coronation Street, Gimme Gimme Gimme)
Starring Tessa Peake-Jones (Only Fools and Horses, Grantchester) and Gwyneth Strong (Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders), and directed by Joanna Read.
Irene and Vera meet under a table at a wedding, after consuming too much sherry. Over the ensuing years, they form a hilarious, barbed long-distance friendship.
Tessa Peake-Jones plays Irene, a retired medical receptionist with a flair for taramsalata, and Gwyneth Strong is Vera, an ex-mobile librarian, embarking on a new relationship with Bill. Between them they battle the big issues of the 21st century, for better, and worse. From climate change protest and drug trafficking to accidental imprisonment, they freely vent their views on their ungrateful children, how to find love at 60, and, on each other.
Ladies of Letters is a riotously funny, sharply observant comedy, packed with acidic detail that women (and men) navigating ungrateful families and M & S in an unforgiving world know so well.
Since Only Fools and Horses ended in 2003, Tessa and Gwyneth have had busy careers. Tessa is well known as Mrs Chapman in ITV’s Grantchester. Her other credits include Unforgotten, Marchlands, Doctor Who, and Poirot. Gwyneth has appeared in numerous classic stage productions and TV shows, with screen credits including roles on Eastenders, Silent Witness, A Touch of Frost, and Casualty, to name a few.
Created by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman, Ladies of Letters became a staple of BBC Radio 4 drama, running for 13 years. It was later adapted for ITV and is still running on ITV3.
This production is adapted by multi award-winning Coronation Street writer Jonathan Harvey, who will also be well known for his BAFTA winning sitcom Gimme, Gimme, Gimme. It is directed by Joanna Read, Director and Chief Executive of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.
‘New boyfriend, eh? I read about this woman in the Daily Mail who abandoned all her friends for a new fancy man. And then an illegal immigrant fell off the wing of a jumbo jet and landed on her. So let that be a lesson to you.’
Running Time: 2 Hours (Including Interval)
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Event Reviews
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The View from the Stalls
It's been a very long-running radio series voiced by Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales which was then turned into a successful TV version (albeit only on ITV3) starring Maureen Lipman and Anne Reid so the stakes are high for the new stage version of Ladies Of Letters which sits somewhere between the radio and TV versions and has Tessa Peake-Jones and Gwyneth Strong (both stalwarts of Only Fools and Horses) in the roles of the letter-writing pair of Irene and Vera. The radio series was (obviously) voice only whilst the TV version was filmed largely in different locations (camper van, farm, etc) and with other characters present, but here we are presented with an impressive-looking stage (giant neon-outlined envelopes, huge pens and postage stamps - all the accoutrements needed for writing letters), with on the left Vera and on the right Irene. And never the two shall meet as all communication is done through reading aloud their letters to each other. Which might, let's face it, sound rather monotonous but with the content of the letters and the way they are read is anything but. And the script by Jonathan Harvey, whilst keeping the same story lines as Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman's original, has been updated to include contemporary references, keeping it fresh and relevant.
Although at the start, the two ladies barely know who the other is, except through a chance meeting at a wedding, they soon get to know each other and that includes their families and their own peculiarities. Irene can be particularly damning and certainly doesn't hold back where her feelings are concerned, alternating between sarcastic and kind in equal measure, leaving Vera to ponder what sort of person she is dealing with. But each also has their own personal tragedies to relate, families who let them down, friends who do much the same, even a spell in prison as a result of taking on a bulldozer at a rally to stop an M&S Food outlet from becoming a Wetherspoons. At times like these, their sympathetic nature and desire to help each other out comes to the fore.
The result is a good solid two-hander of a comedy. Tessa Peake-Jones excels as the somewhat bombastic, single-minded widow and mother of a daughter who decides to flee with husband and new-born to Australia (this is a character not in fact a million miles from her most recent role as the determined and headstrong Mrs Chapman in Grantchester) whilst Gwyneth Strong is wonderful as her more mild-mannered counterpart. The on-stage chemistry, even at a distance, is as important as the script when the show revolves exclusively around two characters and here, with a simple but very effective set, it works very well indeed, giving the audience plenty to laugh - and think - about. Just beware of talking about Charlie!
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Rita
Sharp, clever & funny script that had me enthralled for 2 hours.
The two actors had a commanding stage presence with their superb acting. Such a huge volume of script skilfully navigated by both actors was a joy to behold.
