Coronation Street Blog: Fan review: Corrie stars in Band of Gold at Darlington Hippodrome

I've mentioned many times before here on the Coronation Street Blog how I love to watch actors that we know from TV acting live on stage. None more so than when it's ex-Coronation Street actors. And so it was with a spring in my step and press tickets in my hand that I went to Darlington Hippodrome theatre this weekend to see four ex-Corrie stars in Kay Mellor's stage play Band of Gold.

I'd been a fan of Band of Gold when it was shown on TV many years ago and was intrigued to see how it would transfer to the stage. It's a tough, gritty tale of prostitution, murder and love.

The four ex-Corrie stars in it were Gaynor Faye who plays Rose. She was Judy Mallett in Corrie. She's pictured here on the right in front of Shayne Ward.

Sacha Parkinson played Gina and she'll be remembered by Corrie fans as Sophie Webster's girlfriend, Sian. Gina's husband in the play was played by ex-Hollyoaks actor Kieron Richardson.

Shayne Ward played Inspector Newall in the play and in Corrie he was Aidan Connor.

And last but by no means least was Andrew Dunn who played Ian in Band of Gold. In Corrie he played Roger Stiles but may well be best remembered from Dinner Ladies.

And so, what of the play itself and how did our Corrie favourites fare live on stage?

With Kay Mellor's strong script there was never any doubt that the story wouldn't grip me. She writes wonderfully for women with strong dialogue and great scenes. I think, for me, the biggest surprise (in the best possible way) was Sacha Parkinson whose on-stage performance blew me away. I've not seen her act in anything since she left Coronation Street many years ago, this was the first time I'd seen her outside of the show. She was excellent and I'd love to see more of her on TV or film. She really was wonderful to watch.

Andrew Dunn and Gaynor Faye were as brilliant as you'd expect, both of them having many years of stage and screen work behind them.

What surprised me, however, were the whoops and cheers when Shayne Ward walked on stage. His part isn't a large one (as the actress might have said to the bishop) in this show. We only see him in the second half and has less dialogue than many of the other cast members. But just walking onto the stage prompted a very warm reception from his many admiring, mainly female, fans. It was an odd reaction, I thought, for Shayne's character was a serious one, that of a police inspector investigating a murder and yet he walked on stage to wolf-whistles from fans.

It really was a cracking play and I'm very pleased I went to see it. It was my first visit to Darlington Hippodrome theatre and what a smashing place it was. I definitely plan to return. There are more Coronation Street cast members in plays at Darlington Hippodrome in the coming months and you can check out their what's on guide here.

Band of Gold is now on tour around the country. For tour dates, tickets and more, visit the Band of Gold website.

Glenda Young

Author of dramatic, historical novels with Headline