What we thought of Made in Dagenham performed by Darlington Operatic Society

Darlington Operatic Society’s latest production, Made in Dagenham, fits both categories to offer an evening of laughs, tears and inspiration.

Based on the 2010 movie of the same name, the show is set during the Ford Dagenham strikes of 1968, an event leading to the creation of the Equal Pay Act.

Made in Dagenham discusses the role that women play in society and the barriers that a male-dominated world put in the way, touching on themes of equality, motherhood, community and feminism.

With sixties-themed music providing the backing of the unfurling narrative, we journey alongside factory-worker Rita O’Grady, portrayed wonderfully by Ellen Dunbavin-Lomas who gives a subtly brilliant performance with emotional depth.

(Image: Scott Akoz) Charged with leading a workplace dispute alongside trade union veteran Connie (Samantha Morrison), Rita quickly discovers that the issue in front of her is much bigger and impacts many more people than she first realised. The dispute at the Dagenham factory, where O’Grady sews leather seats for new Ford cars, will eventually lead to equal pay for women being enshrined in law.

It is a comedy first and foremost, but as the show takes its course it becomes a satirical observation of the way the world works and serves as a timeless reminder of the different walls that the political world puts in place for working class people, and women in particular.

The satire takes root in the show’s portrayal of Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, at the time a fairly newly elected PM who is grappling with a rising cost of living amid a backdrop of workplace disputes and calls from trade unions for a real sense of change in the direction of the country.

(Image: Scott Akoz) Flashforward nearly 60 years and it could be Keir Starmer talking to Angela Rayner in Downing Street, rather than the show’s political drama of Wilson and his cabinet member Barbara Castle who has to step up to make sure women in the workforce can live in an ‘ideal world’.

“It’s an age-old story / It’s an age-old tale,” Connie sings in a rousing act one number that sums up the messaging of the show. “Second at the table / Picking up the crumbs / Change is always promised / But somehow never comes.”

(Image: Sarah Caldecott) The Darlington Hippodrome provides a perfect background for the show with the echoes of industry just over the road – the railway station a reminder of Darlington’s place in history as the birthplace of modern rail.

The OS’s set is superb and costumes are all the fun of the 60s without being too cliché.

All in all, the show makes for a brilliant night out with a message that resonates from the 60s to the present day. The standard on the stage is certainly not amateur, despite the society’s nature as an amateur group.

Made in Dagenham is running until Saturday November 2 at Darlington Hippodrome.