Sue Devaney chats to Viv Hardwick about taking on another tour of dinnerladies.

THE dinnerladies of HWD Components, Manchester, are facing up to the recession with the news that their canteen is destined to close, which is not the most promising of plots until you appreciate that the wickedly funny pen of Victoria Wood is involved.

Original TV show star Sue Devaney arrives with the latest stage saga at Darlington Civic Theatre – which itself is feeling the cold financial blast – next week and says: “I’ve heard that places like schools are talking about getting rid of dinnerladies and the story we are telling in this version is really quite poignant as well because the canteen is facing closure because the firm feels it doesn’t need the dinnerladies. So it’s going self-serve.”

Even so, the script manages to see the funny side, unlike the real world outside which is beginning to worry the world of the touring actor.

“With all the cutbacks, you just feel lucky to be in work as an actor. This play was such a success last year that it’s been brought back and not many shows are surviving without a lot of backing.

“It’s really sad that the little local theatres are under pressure, particularly Darlington, which is a lovely venue. The arts are always the first thing to go, but we’re going to end up as a nation which never goes out,” says Devaney.

Moving swiftly on to the project that will lift the gloom at Darlington and the Sunderland Empire in May, I ask about her decision to get involved in the latest tour.

“This is dinnerladies: second helpings a new script and actually set in the canteen this time rather than the kitchen,”

explains Devaney who continues as Jane the planning department canteen user, but has also taken on the glorious cameo of Bren’s ultra-selfish mother Petula.

“I’m older now so I can take this on and I’m loving it. I think it works really well in theatre because when we did the TV show we filmed in front of a live audience and we did it on Fridays and anything that wasn’t right we filmed again on Saturday. So Victoria Wood spent Friday nights rewriting anything that wasn’t funny enough.

“It was a wonderful experience working with her, Julie Walters and Celia Imrie because they are really up there.

Julie Walters is like a chameleon who can just change into any character. It was fascinating and you learn so much.

“Petula on stage is my take on that character because I can’t be Julie Walters.

So the character is written in such a way that it lends to that voice and those actions. So it’s kind of me putting my own stamp on that character.”

She bursts into laughter when I ask if the rest of the cast look to her for inspiration in re-creating dinnerladies on stage. “Not at all. No, because Andrew Dunn is in this one as well so it’s lovely.

And we did this so many years ago, that when you’ve got a new script it’s like starting afresh. Laura Sheppard is playing Victoria Wood’s role of Bren and she’s fantastic.”

Devaney jokes about never having done a normal job in her life.

“And these days I wouldn’t know what to do and now you seem to be selling yourself, like you’re selling a product. I think it’s a good year if I work three times.

“Now I’m doing stand-up comedy and I’m also performing in a band as well,”

says Devaney who has also created a sixpart comedy series which is reaching the final stages of discussion with the BBC.

“We’ve got the first treatment on two episodes and we’ve now got a meeting with the BBC. I can’t believe how slow it is. It’s taken a year-and-a-half and we do worry that some of the things we’ve written about will be out of date,” she jokes.

Devaney reveals that she and writing partner Sarah Groarke use the Buddhist Centre café in Manchester to create their scripts, which will be about a fictional village called Cheadleton where two women come up with a series of moneymaking schemes.

“My singing act is called Double Bubble and it’s me and Julie Corrigan and we do any event that will have us in the Manchester area. Then I do the comedy stores as two old women with Sarah Groarke and I think the way forward is to write and perform your own material.

“I think that’s what you need to do when you grow older because I didn’t want to go down the road of having botox and looking younger. So many of my actor friends have done that, but I want to play the meaty parts of the old lady eventually so why do I want to constantly be thought of as young and beautiful?”

* dinnerladies, Darlington Civic Theatre, Monday-Saturday. Tickets: £17- £25. Box Office: 01325-486-555 darlingtonarts.co.uk

Sunderland Empire Theatre, May 9-14, £14.50-£26.50, 0844-847-2499, sunderlandempire.org.uk