It was staged in Bowness at our very own Victoria Wood Theatre, previously the Old Laundry Theatre.
And now the theatre is planning a series of classic movies to highlight the brilliant film career of Victoria Wood, writer, director and star. They will be screened through the autumn and early winter on special occasions when each screening will be introduced, and you’re invited to join the team at 7pm before the film for a glass of wine and cheese and biscuits.
The season starts with Housewife, 49, which stars Victoria Wood with David Threlfall. (Fri 11 September, 7:30pm) It’s an award-winning drama set in the late 1930s, written by Victoria and based on the mass observation diaries of Nella Last, a 49-year-old housewife living in Barrow-in-Furness.
The Mass Observation Project was a non-governmental scheme designed to chronicle the lives of ordinary people. When war comes, Nella experiences a change in the relationship she has with her two sons and defies her over-protective husband to join the local Women's Voluntary Service.
It’s followed on Wed 28 October, 7:30pm by Pat and Margaret, which stars Victoria with her great screen partners Julie Walters and Celia Imrie. Again written by Victoria, this comedy drama was nominated for two BAFTA awards. It tells the tale of the unexpected events that occur when Pat, a glamorous British-born star of American soaps, returns home to plug her autobiography on television and meets, for the first time since they were teenagers, Margaret, her plain and frumpy younger sister.
One of our favourites comes next (Thurs 19 November, 7:30pm), That Day We Sang, written by Victoria and starring Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton. It’s a gentle musical comedy/romance set in Manchester in 1929 and 1969, and is based on the musical which was commissioned by The Manchester International Festival.
The final screen classic in the series is Eric and Ernie, starring Starring Daniel Rigby, Reece Shearsmith and Victoria Wood, and co-written by Victoria. (Thurs 10 December, 7:30pm). The film chronicles the fledging careers and early days of the comedy duo Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise.
There’s also a cabaret night tribute to our late lamented treasure What Wood Victoria Do? (Fri 25 September, 7:30pm). How on earth have we all survived the past decade of modern living without Victoria Wood and her observational wit and wisdom? What would she make of an Air Fryer? The Repair Shop? K-Pop Demon Hunters? Paulus The Cabaret Geek is on hand to help us find answers.
From the creators behind the critically acclaimed Looking For Me Friend this brand new show is a celebration of those women who don’t mince their words but make everything better with a cuppa and a mutual distaste for next door’s extension, navigating friendship and loss among tea towels and village halls.There’s a fresh batch of brilliant tunes from The Victoria Wood Songbook.
Directed by the multi-award-winning Sarah-Louise Young (An Evening Without Kate Bush) this show proves that though Victoria may be gone, she has left behind so many golden nuggets of music and laughter.
For details of all shows, see here