will get him a 10% discount (“if we
share the pudding”) - is a wash-
out, and Sheila returns home to
her drab life with an unapprecia-
tive teenage son (Jaygann Ayeh)
whose older girlfriend (Gwen-
doline Christie) seems intent on
turning Sheila’s home into her own
boudoir. Things are no better for
Sheila at work, where she is forced
to endure pedantic, passive ag-
gressive tellings off from her em-
ployers (a hilariously deadpan Ju-
lian Barrett and Steve Oram as
gay lovers) over matters as trivial
as the strength of her handshake.
As if Sheila’s life wasn’t miserable
enough, her new dress seems to
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 65
be out to get her, destroying her
washing machine when she at-
tempts to clean it, jumping about
in her closet and inexplicably re-
turning to one piece after being
torn to shreds by a dog driven fe-
ral at the site of the garment.
I won’t reveal where this storyline
leads, but later on the dress finds
itself reluctantly worn by Reg (Leo
Bill) when he’s forced to don it by
his boozy mates on his stag night.
As with Sheila, Reg and his fiancée
Babs (Hayley Squires) fall victim to
similarly ominous circumstances.
Throughout both storylines,
Strickland treats us to a glimpse
behind the scenes at Dentley &
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