High hopes after putting disaster show behind her

An adaptation of Victoria Wood's TV sitcom dinnerladies is heading to the Regent Theatre next week. Zita Collinson talks to Sue Devaney, one of the stars of the original series, about her decision to take part in the new stage version

SUE Devaney is hoping to exorcise some of her theatrical demons when she returns to the Regent next week.

The star of dinnerladies is reprising her role as Jane in the stage version of Victoria Wood's TV sitcom, which arrives in Hanley on Monday.

But the Rochdale-born actress admits her last appearance at the Regent, in 2007, didn't exactly fill her with happy memories.

"I had a disastrous time there to be honest," says Sue. "We did a musical called Girls Behind. Maureen Nolan was due to be in it and in the last week of our tour, when we came to Stoke, she had to leave to do panto.

"An understudy had to take over and things didn't go well. But it's second time around and I'm really looking forward to coming back."

Thankfully, dinnerladies promises to be a happier experience all round for the 42-year-old.

Like the TV show, which was first screened in 1999, the stage adaptation is set around the staff canteen of a fictional Northern firm.

Victoria Wood famously reunited Acorn Antiques pals Celia Imrie and Julie Walters for the sitcom – all three are absent from the new adaptation – and Sue says it was an honour to work with them.

"I'd never met Victoria before the auditions in 1999," she says.

"She'd write the scripts then we'd rehearse all week and perform it in front of a live audience on Friday. Then what bits she wanted to change, she'd do on Saturday and then we'd perform it again on the Saturday night, so you'd have two goes at it.

"She's quite serious in a way in that she knows what she wants and she gets it across."

Sue only joined the rest of the stage cast four weeks ago.

Shobna Gulati, who played Sunita Alahan in Coronation Street, also took part in the initial touring production, but has now left to resume filming on the famous cobbles.

"I'd heard that there was going to be a theatre version of dinnerladies," explains Sue.

"Shobna and Andrew Dunn, who was in the TV series, were initially in it, then Shobna left to start filming Coronation Street again.

"It's been fantastic to join the cast. The show is basically the two series combined into two hours of fun and laughter. It's going down so well with audiences.

"It's a good night out. I think people need a bit of a good laugh at the moment."

Like Shobna, Sue found fame in Weatherfield at the tender age of 16. Her face became even more well known when she took the role of Rita in children's show, Jonny Briggs.

And she says she doesn't envy the present-day crop of young soap actors who regularly grace the pages of glossy celebrity magazines.

"It was a little bit daunting when I joined Corrie," she says. "But I think there is more pressure now than there was when I was first getting into it. You went into a show like that because you wanted to act, not because you wanted to be famous.

"I think part of being in a soap now, you have to go down the road of doing spreads in magazines. Gone are the days where you trained in repertory theatre and just wanted to be an actor."

Ultimately Sue is confident that this most recent incarnation of dinnerladies will deliver similar laughs to its predecessor.

She is something of an expert in laughter and has recently formed a stand-up double act with writing partner and friend Sarah Groarke.

"Our act came about because we were both out of work at the time," says Sue. "So we got together and created two characters called Mave and Maureen.

"It's been well-received which is good because it's our own work. It's all about having some control in this business."

Dinnerladies is at the Regent Theatre, Hanley, from Monday, October 26 until Saturday, October 31. Telephone the box office on 0844 871 7627 for performance times and further information.