Opening at the newly refurbished Newcastle Theatre Royal Studio space before touring, Janet Plater’s Limelight is a highly engaging take on real-life local events.

Set in 1854, the play charts the triumphant Newcastle return of real-life Victorian stage star Julia St George (Rebecca Withers, in good voice). The action takes place backstage at the Theatre Royal, where an earthy, funny St George encounters two other – far less famous – actors, Fanny (Caitlin Fairlamb) and Emily (Dayna Dixon). Their night on stage is bookended by two events – the discovery of an abandoned baby’s body and a fire that will impact the whole city.

Photograph taken at Newcastle Theatre Royal (provided by company)

Directed with energy and pace by Christina Berriman Dawson, this is a show that clearly knows its audience. There are plenty of local references and jokes, and lots of sly digs at the arrogance of the capital (there’s a whole song about why London can’t compare with Newcastle). The music – a mix of well-performed songs from the period and original compositions from Wilf Stone – break up the drama nicely.

A likeable cast manage the humour well, while also allowing space for some of the piece’s more serious moments – the play doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of poverty, or the difficult choices women were faced with. Though the dialogue could in places be sharper and at times leans into clichés – it’s not a particularly subtle production – there’s a genuine sense both of the period and of life backstage, aided by Lee Ward’s evocative design.

This sense of veracity is helped, of course, by the ‘backstage’ feel of the studio itself. The newly refurbished studio space feels like a welcome addition to the Newcastle scene, offering a home to shows that would likely never make their way into the main auditorium, and I hope we get a lot more productions staged there. It’s not the easiest of spaces to navigate – there are two giant Clydesdale steel pillars smack in the middle of the stage – but the production deftly manages this challenge, ensuring the cast move around so that no one is ever stuck out of sight of any part of the audience for too long, and incorporating the structure so that it feels part of the show, not an obstruction to it.

The pacing is slightly odd – with a 45-minute first half and a second half of around 20 minutes, the interval feels a bit unnecessary – but there is no slacking in the action, and no time for an audience to get bored. These women are people you’d root for, and it’s a pleasure to spend the time in their company.

Limelight, written by Janet Plater and directed by Christina Berriman Dawson, is presented by CaroleW Productions with support from Newcastle Theatre Royal. It tours until 4 May – details can be found here: