Bob Eaton's revival of his 1989 musical Good Golly Miss Molly! at the New Vic theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme is a jolly slice of social history, leavened by a soundtrack of rock'n'roll standards and given a local spin with references to disappearing landmarks such as the Shelton Bar steel works. The show tells the story of the residents of Hawes Street in Tunstall, who resisted the council's plan to demolish their houses as part of a slum clearance programme, and made the successful case for home improvements instead.
Eaton, who was at the vanguard of actor-musician shows when he first staged the piece, clocks that music was the glue that bound the community together. The story is told through the lens of a band reuniting for a nostalgic knees-up in a social club. The Molly of the title, played by Shirley Darroch, goes from belligerent schoolgirl to lead singer, NUM staffer and residents' association chair, finding self-fulfilment along the way.
The show's impact would be greater if the conflict were more fully explored. Perhaps in 1989 the details were more widely understood, but the play gives only a sketchy idea of what the residents have to lose and, in the form of sympathetic councillor Eddie (David Ahmad), only a vague impression of the forces they are up against. However, there is a joyful sense of the music pulling the audience into the action, literally for those in the front row, giving an exuberant lift to the company's 40th anniversary season.
