The first female Speaker of the House of Commons is having her life story recounted on stage, but instead of being a somber political drama, Maxine Peake, the actor, returns to her comedic roots and sings in her first musical.
Betty Boothroyd’s childhood fantasies of high-kicking her way to fame in show business were never realized.
After World War Two, she found that she wasn’t cut out to be a chorus-line showgirl at the London Palladium, thus her time with the Tiller Girls dancing group was brief.
Her talent for performing, however, wasn’t in vain. When she followed her second interest in politics, she transitioned to a different public stage and ended up playing a prominent role in the House of Commons as the first Madam Speaker from 1992 to 2000.
She stated in her autobiography that politicians are “public performers, like Tiller Girls.” They risk losing it if they forget it.
Likewise, Maxine Peake. She asserts that “the worlds of politics and theater do overlap.” “My grandfather used to tell me, “Maxine, politicians are frustrated performers. She truly exudes charisma and presence.
The way Betty (now Baroness) Boothroyd handled the Commons audience won her widespread admiration. That is what motivated Peake and Seiriol Davies, her co-writer and co-star, to present her life story on stage.
Peake explains,
“We just felt she was someone to celebrate.” “You examine her accomplishments. It’s what she believed in, what she stood for, and what she accomplished.
And when you begin with a character who was a Tiller Girl, you may assume that this may be entertaining, particularly for a musical.
Peake and Davies decided against the expected idea of a straight, sober biographical play, and the title of their production implies that it isn’t quite a typical musical either.
On Saturday, Betty! A Sort of Musical debuted at Manchester’s Royal Exchange theater. The word “kind of” in the title alludes to the fact that the play is a play within a play, following an amateur dramatic group in Lady Boothroyd’s hometown of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, as they attempt to perform a musical about their hometown heroine.
As Lady Boothroyd, each member of the fictitious Dewsbury Players takes turns singing a song about a different period in her life. With James Bond and Grease-themed numbers and a Boothroydian Rhapsody that takes its cues from Queen, each song takes the listener on a different fanciful journey.
The amount of absurdity is raised for all of them if we’re in a Bond movie or a kitchen sink drama, says Davies.
Although we believe there is some truth in each event, we do not guarantee that the information is accurate in terms of biographical facts, he continues. It’s not a bio-musical, though. The subject of the musical is men creating legends about the women they adore.
Davies claims that both Lady Boothroyd’s overall “fabulousness” and her “explicit splendor and showmanship” served as inspiration for him.
Additionally, “I believe she is a unifying figure. If someone has heard of Betty, they will likely at the very least respect her or, if not, be mildly fixated on her.
“However, if someone hasn’t heard of her, I simply have to inform them that she was formerly a kick-line chorus girl and that the KGB attempted to honeytrap her before she advanced to, say, the second-highest commoner rank in the nation.
Whatever political position you have, “it is a tale.”
Despite having different points of view, the characters in the Dewsbury am-dram group concur that Lady Boothroyd is, as Peake also thinks, a symbol of democratic respectability and stability in contrast to today’s politicians.
With her talent, wit, and intelligence, she successfully brought the House of Commons together. I deeply felt the absence of that.
Peake portrays Meredith Ankle, the head of the amateur theater company and proprietor of Ankle Carpets. It’s difficult to miss Victoria Wood’s influence, who gave Peake her big break in Dinnerladies, in the way she finds humor in even the most uninteresting circumstances.
Peake recalls, “Even before I worked with her, she was such a tremendous inspiration growing up. There are fewer comedic roles.
Peake has since built her career primarily in serious (and frequently harrowing) dramas like Three Girls, which is about the Rotherham child sex grooming scandal; Anne, in which she plays Hillsborough campaigner Anne Williams; and Mike Leigh’s historical tub-thumper Peterloo. Betty! marks Peake’s return to comedy.
When we initially started writing, I wasn’t Meredith, recalls Peake. The more I wrote, the more I yearned to play Meredith because I’d been dying to play her for a very long time.
“I began in comedy, and I believed I would stay there. I sort of thought, “Oh, I’d like to do some straight, serious drama,” after that. I then found it difficult to turn around. So here I am letting it all out.
“When I was younger, I believed that would be my career as I approached middle age. However, these larger-than-life humorous women roles aren’t created for women as frequently as they once were. Vicky Wood is no more.
Peake must sing for the newest products as well. Has she ever performed in a musical? “What the heck. I’m not a musician.
She is a member of The Eccocentric Research Council, albeit her singing style with them is a more spoken word than music. Again a musical, sort of.
Being able to say, “OK, I’m going to do something where I sing, and there are ways around it, and I’ve learned so much,” at the ripe old age of 48 is nice.
Dennis Skinner and you in a rap duel
Not the first politician to receive a musical makeover is Lady Boothroyd. Although recent shows depicting British political leaders have had mixed outcomes, Evita and Hamilton haven’t done too badly either.
A similar exclamation point was used for Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera), which comedian Harry Hill co-wrote. Blair is more contentious, and the show was less tender and deft. According to The Telegraph, “the show struggles to break out of a cartoon register.”
A music hall and Broadway song backdrop for the “colorful Commons clashes” of seasoned Labour MP Dennis Skinner, the subject of The Palace of Varieties, “makes surprising sense,” according to The Guardian.
In Betty!, Skinner also makes an appearance. This time, the Beast of Bolsover and Madam Speaker engage in a rap battle-style verbal duel.
For Peake, who earlier wrote plays about two other trailblazing real-life women, champion cyclist Beryl Burton and Hull fishwife Lillian Bilocca, Betty! also wraps up a trilogy. Both hail from Yorkshire, just like Lady Boothroyd.
Peake, a Bolton resident, quips, “I feel somewhat betrayed by my Lancashire heritage.” The publishing of articles about inspiring northern working-class women has become a recurring theme.
By the time Peake arrived to pay respects, Burton and Bilocca had both passed away. Lady Boothroyd is still very much with us at age 93. What does she think of this imaginative interpretation of her life?
Peake claims that she has “been supportive.” “Because don’t you worry? What do you suppose she would think? However, she seems really happy about it. She has our assurances that it’s a celebration.
Betty! A Sort of Musical is playing at the Manchester Royal Exchange Theater through January 14.
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