Featured Play

A Family Business

The play follows Teresa, Barry and Kathy (Teresa's mother) who decide to set up an agency for strippers. Teresa drives the idea because while helping her mother behind the bar at the local workingmens club she was shocked and outraged when she saw how the women strippers were treated by the punters. This is the 1970s when male bars, misogyny and stripping on a Sunday were commonplace. Teresa reckoned there was money to be made but it wasnt just money she wanted the women to be treated better and get paid more. Kathy her mother was quickly on board and then (this being the 1970s)Teresa had to convince her husband. The business becomes a success but not before the characters learned how to train and protect the women strippers, deal and negotiate with gangland bosses who control the seedy world of stripping. They do this partly with Kathy's unexpected talents for training the strippers and with the aid of Ron, Kathy's former boss who knows all about what goes on in working men's clubs. The characters face further challenges when Teresa has twins and the world of the working mens clubs comes tumbling down. Teresa comes up with a new business idea and they (Kathy, Barry, Ron, Teresa and the twins) relocate to Malaga. All of Teresa's dreams for respectability, security and family come true. Her mother Kathy and Ron are about to get married and the twins, Noel and Nick, are due to take up their places at Oxford University fulfilling everything Teresa wanted. There's a flashback to the strippers and Teresa, Kathy and Barry making a contribution during the Miners Strike. To her horror, Teresa finds out that the twins aren't so keen on taking up their places and she find out they confided in their dad and Kathy and Ron. Teresa throws a wobbler and disappears leaving everyone in a state of panic. Barry finds her and after she's had time to think, Teresa apologises to her mother for almost ruining her wedding and accepts the change of plan by the the twons Noel and Nick. She listens to their plans to start a business of their own. She didn't want to know earlier on but now she's all for it. She starts to make plans to join in forgetting that it isn't her business idea. The wedding is great and everyone is happy and the strippers make an appearance. The play ends with Barry realising he has his hands full making sure that the twins have the freedom to start their business without Teresa. It's a whole new challenge.

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