The Picture of Doreen Gray

Maggie Fox as Doreen Gray

Celebrity presenter Doreen Gray has it all, a drive time radio show and a high ratings lifestyle programme on Even More 4, but hitting 50, Doreen finds her face no longer fits the bill. At a school reunion she stumbles across a youthful self-portrait and makes a dark and dreadful pact with the picture.

A 60-strong choir made up of budding performers recruited from around Manchester are to tread the boards with Lip Service in this production, playing the roles of Doreen’s old school friends.

Maggie Fox, originally from York and Sue Ryding, who is from Bolton, are this year celebrating 30 years since the inception of their award-winning Manchester-based theatre company Lip Service. 

Since 1985 the comedic duo have been writing and performing together and touring their work both nationally and internationally. Lip Service have twice won the Critics’ Award for Comedy and their achievements were celebrated at the 2014 Manchester Theatre Awards, where the ladies walked away with the Stage Door Award for Excellence.

Maggie and Sue have written 18 original comedies including Inspector Norse which enjoyed a successful run at The Lowry last year; Very Little Women, a comic version of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women; Hector’s House, an epic tale of togas and taramasalata; The Importance of Being Earnest and their cult show Withering Looks.

Also familiar faces on the small screen, Maggie and Sue have appeared separately and together on ITV’s Coronation Street, Channel 4’s Shameless and played the batty old women in BBC2’s Out and About with Joyce and Betty. They have also written animation scripts and voiced characters for Cosgrove Hall Films including DiscWorld, Rocky and the Dodos and Animal Shelf.

Over the last two years LipService has been working with heritage organisations including Elizabeth Gaskell House, Bronte Parsonage Museum, The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester Histories Festival and Creative Tourist on specially commissioned site specific projects.

The Picture of Doreen Gray is presented by Lip Service and Oldham Coliseum.

Listings Information

The Picture of Doreen Gray

Quays Theatre

Wed 4 – Sat 7 March

Times: 8pm, Thu & Sat 2:30pm

Tickets: £20 - £22 (includes £2 booking fee)

Signed Performance – Fri 6 March, 8pm

Audio described performance – Sat 7 March, 2:30pm.

To book call the box office on 0843 208 6000, or online at www.thelowry.com

Published: 19-Feb-2015: (2966)