A Force To Be Reckoned With

Having thoroughly enjoyed nest(ling ) down to watch Mikron’s production ‘Twitchers’ in April at Billingley Village Hall, I was looking forward this week to returning to Barnsley to see their latest arresting tale of 1950s law and order: A Force To Be Reckoned With; their first outdoor show this season, in the courtyard of the delightful Maurice Dobson Museum and Heritage Centre, Darfield.

Brilliant banter from the Barnsley Bard, Ian McMillan had everyone laughing and relaxed as they took their seats; Ian is a Trustee of the Museum, along other hard working volunteers including Guide Ken Brookes - what a little gem this museum is, well worth a visit.
More Heartbeat than Happy Valley, A Force To Be Reckoned With written by one of my favourite playwrights, Amanda Whittington, was an arresting story which captured a century of change in true marvellous Mikron style.

With handbag, whistle and a key to the Police Box, WPC Iris Armstrong was ready for whatever the mean streets of a 1950s market town threw at her.

Mikron always have a tight team of actors, and having seen actor/ musicians Eddie Ahrens, Hannah Baker, Harvey Badger and Rachel Hammond in fine form in ‘Twitchers , I was expecting a high standard, but was in awe of how they worked together so brilliantly, drawing us into rookie WPC Iris’s experiences as she faced truculence and patronising behaviour from her male colleagues at the police station; in particular from PC North who didn’t like the winds of change one bit. All the characters played, from Sergeant Blake (Harvey Badger) and feisty WPC Ruby Roberts (Rachel Hammond), along with WPC Armstrong (Hannah Baker ) to camp Septimus the Spiritualist/PC North (Eddie Ahrens) were so real and believable, all credit to this talented cast and the sparkling script by Amanda Whittington, and to director Gitika Buttoo.

I loved the positivity of the piece, persuasion, advice and warning was Ruby’s mantra, and by gum the gentle touch worked, proving that persuasion was indeed better than force. WPCs’ specialist skills and resilience was celebrated through the journey of Iris and Ruby, and we were with them every step of the way.

Some wonderfully comedic moments in the show, often involving Eddie Ahrens, playing Septimus, but in particular his cameo as an upper class lady shoplifter – just hilarious!

The musical numbers, as always were an integral part of the show. Composer Greg Last and Musical Director and Arranger Dan McGlade were a force to be reckoned with in their own right with their sensational songs; We All Have Our Secrets and Songbird were particularly poignant, and a complete contrast in mood to the buoyant What If Ma’s Right? number enjoyed so much by us all.

A fabulous 'Tardis' set by Celia Perkins was full of little surprises, and used to great effect by the cast. Mention should be made too of the brilliant police costumes, they made for an arresting sight.

“To walk the path you’ve beaten To carry the baton you pass “ really resonated with me when I learned from the title song that The Sex Discrimination Act came into force in 1975, the year I started training as a teacher.

How grateful I am then, to have taken for granted that I was on equal pay with my male colleagues when I started my first post. A big thank you to those ladies who were A Force To Be Reckoned With!