Devilled Eggs by Black Liver

This show has been created using research from The Working Class Movement LIbrary along Lancashire Archive material.

Devilled Eggs
Welcome to the Dakota Guest House! The most glamorous B&B this side of
Burnley/Blackpool/Insert town here!
Let your hosts, Roman and Prudence flip through their guest book of the famous and the infamous. Expect stories of celebrity and notoriety, from their heyday as the B&B to the stars to their present-day haven to the bizarre.
The Dakota is the spirit of Variety; every room is a character with a tale to tell, an act to perform or a song to be sung. Comedy, tragedy and mystery are resident guests here.
Like The Devilled Eggs it serves, this show is hearty, hilarious and homely…but with an extra touch of spice.

So what will I expect to see?
A brand spanking new two-hander play, about a guest house over a span of 100 years.
There will be sketches, songs and stories about each era of the guest house. A mixture of comic characters and heart-breaking stories, satirical songs and poetry. Alongside audience interaction as the characters chat and confide in the audience.

So what is it talking about? What are its themes?
The show addresses the theme of austerity, how we cope with it and make best of the situation.
The characters in the show have all experienced hardship and have found either positive solutions or positive outlooks.
Some characters show how to have a holiday on a budget, creating a ‘holiday’ at home, how to ‘sightsee’ the unique landmarks and points of interest in your own town.
The show wants to help the audience discover the beauty of their own local surroundings.

Which leads to the theme of the traditional British working-class family holiday, when
travelling abroad was for the wealthy. To the resurgence of this in the present day, when the family unit now comprises of friends.
This bygone age link comes to the final theme when stage entertainment ruled the towns of Britain. There will be references to the unusual and unique entertainers that populated the theatres all over the country. The importance of live entertainment; the street performer, the travelling B&B lounge singer or theatre stagehand.