Theatre: Joy brings Yorkshire grit to story of a Boston gal

Good People, East Riding Theatre, Beverley
From left, Joy Brook, Misha Duncan-Barry, and Rory Murray.From left, Joy Brook, Misha Duncan-Barry, and Rory Murray.
From left, Joy Brook, Misha Duncan-Barry, and Rory Murray.

Scarborough actress Joy Brooke leads a Yorkshire cast in Good People which has opened at the East Riding Theatre, Beverley.

Written by Pulitzer prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and awarded the 2011 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, Good People is set in South Boston, USA.

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The play follows single-mother Margie Walsh who is down on her luck – fired from her job at the dollar store and under threat of being kicked out by her landlady.

Margie’s only hope seems to be a good win at the bingo. Hearing that an old flame has made good as a doctor and is back in town, Margie takes her chance to see if he can throw her a lifeline.

“Margie is an astonishing woman who Iives day to day in the hope that tomorrow will be better – or at least, no worse,” said Joy who was in Emmerdale and The Bill.

“ She is funny, brave – and as we all are – occasionally foolhardy. As an actor, what could be more challenging than a character who has nothing to hide behind?

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“ It’s also lovely to be coming home to Yorkshire to play this part –I think Yorkshire grit and Boston grit are pretty much the same thing.”

Also in the cast are Janet Prince, from Willerby, Michael Kinsey, born in Beverley, and Misha Duncan-Barry, from Huddersfield.

Adrian Rawlins directs Good People, the theatre’s first in-house production of the year.

“What drew me to Good People was the thrill and challenge of transporting Beverley to downtown Boston USA,” he said. “Plays have the power to take us on a journey and give us an insight into people’s lives that we wouldn’t normally come across.

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“Through the writing of David Lindsay-Abaire, I found myself looking through a window into the life of Margie Walsh and her community...their struggles, their audacity, their vulnerability, and found it totally compelling. I hope our audiences will too.”

Completing the cast are Rory Murray and Nada Sharp.

Good People runs at the East Riding Theatre, Beverley, until Saturday March 24, daily at 7.30pm and Saturday matinees at 2,30pm.

Tickets: 01482 874050.