Crucible, Sheffield
Wood’s 1978 play about a young woman’s quest to win a local talent show handles weighty issues, including sexual exploitation, breezily
It is a world of mirror balls and knee-high boots. Of Babycham and Woodbines. Of cheesy magic acts and variety nights – a world the late Victoria Wood knew well, having cut her teeth in Birmingham folk clubs before landing her big break on the talent show New Faces.
In her 1978 play, written for Julie Walters and premiered at the Crucible, this is also a world she looks back on with a characteristic blend of affection and caustic eye for detail.
