Di and Viv and Rose at The Penrith Players Theatre

Penrith, Cumbria. Thursday 16-February-2023.

After our last experience at the players theatre [A Bunch of Amateurs] we were looking forward to this production and it vastly exceeded our expectations.

To quote the ad:

"Di and Viv and Rose is a funny and thoughtful exploration of friendship’s impact on life, and life’s impact on friendship. 

Aged eighteen, three women join forces as freshers at university in 1983 and decide to share a house. Life is fun. Living is intense. Together they feel unassailable. 

On the surface, they seem unlikely friends, other than their shared love of the music of the artist formerly known as Prince. Di, a sporty lesbian business student, bursting with energy; Viv, a judgemental, driven, ambitious design student intent on escaping her roots; and Rose, more middle-class, insouciant, a student of Art History.  It’s the early 80s and their friendship, over the next twenty-seven years, is the subject and the heart of this light, amusing and entertaining show.  

Written by Amelia Bullmore, the play shows how their solidarity precariously survives physical separation, varied career paths and life's challenges."

The three leads did an absolutely brilliant job. Congratulations to Charlotte, Elinor and Emma on three excellent performances, very convincing, they inhabited their roles. The whole thing was riveting is "what will happen next?" kind of a way with plenty of plot twists to keep you engaged.

If I were to cavil the the author didn't quite manage the ending, it sort of just stopped without a dramatic full stop. That notwithstanding bravura performances all round with a good number of laughs delivered along the way.

Looking forward to the next production.