CLAIRE Sweeney, star of Brookside and stage musicals, has turned her hand to co-writing as well as starring in Sex In Suburbia, an uplifting comedy that appropriately carries the support of Ann Summers.

Premiered at the Liverpool Royal Court last year under the title Sex And The Suburbs, Sweeney and Mandy Muden’s show is now on tour, playing the Grand Opera House, York, on April 10 with its “revealing and raunchy storylines, set to a backdrop of sensational musical anthems including I’m Every Woman, I Want To Break Free and Somebody Else’s Guy, that will make you laugh, cry and dance in the aisles”.

One review (from Chad in Chesterfield) has called Sex In Suburbia “a low-rent, unsophisticated take on the Sex In The City dating disasters”. In essence, it explores the mysteries of men, dating, finding Mr Right and motherhood through the late-night radio phone-in hosted by agony aunt Penny Crowe (played by Lindzi Germain), who is more than happy to dish out relationship advice, but is she as happy to take it?

Claire Sweeney joins Penny on her show as a relationship expert, while Carl Patrick takes on multiple roles, from frigid football fans, to karate-chopping children and outrageous radio host Rory Reynolds.

For Claire, the show has its roots in her appearance in an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

“I was doing Tell Me On A Sunday, his one-woman show about looking for love and it kind of reflected my own life,” says the 43-year-old actress, singer and television personality from Walton, Liverpool.

“I mentioned it to the producer Jamie Wilson and he said, ‘You’ve got to write these ideas down’, so I wrote it down with Mandy, a comedian and magician who worked on the cruise ships. We wrote it over two years and we went for a full-scale show in Liverpool last April and May,” Claire recalls of writing about her own experiences in the dating game, “aided by several bottles of Sauvignon”.

“We were due to take it on tour but then I found out I was pregnant! I have a little boy now, Jackson, who was born on September 29.”

The tour was delayed but has been up and running since February 20. “Now Jackson comes with me; he’s a good little boy, and the only time we’re apart is when I’m on stage,” says Claire.

 

York Press:

Initially, she was worried how well Sex In Suburbia would be received in the south, but the reaction in Wimbledon allayed her fears. “It went really well, which was a great feeling,” says Claire. “We knew it would go well in the north, but the thing is, everyone everywhere has had a few lousy dates. Money doesn’t protect you from that. So the show appeals to both sexes.”

Claire and Mandy had never written anything previously.

“It was very challenging because normally when I go into a show, I am protected by the writing of playwrights like John Godber or Willy Russell or I’m doing a musical,” says Claire. “The thing is, when it’s your own writing, it’s quite terrifying, but then there’s the thrill you get when the actors get a laugh with things you’ve written.”

Trying out the show on home turf in Liverpool allowed the writers leeway to experiment. “We made a lot of cuts in the first few weeks when the show was too long, so we made decisions on what to take out based on seeing what got the best laughs,” says Claire. “We’ve since made changes for the tour, a few where we’ve de-Scoused it, removing the Liverpool references.”

Claire has enjoyed this first venture into writing. “I’ve been wanting to do this for ages,” she says, as she adds another string to her bow. “I’ve also now got my own radio show on Magic (105.4) on Sundays between 3pm and 4pm, playing songs from the musicals, and after Sex In Suburbia, I’m going into Hairspray, opening at the Leicester Curve in September.

“I’ll be playing Velma Von Tussle [a bigoted television show producer in segregated Baltimore, Maryland in 1962] and it’ll be going on tour until the end of next January.

“It’s being directed by Paul Kerryson, and I’m really excited about that.”

• Claire Sweeney stars in Sex In Suburbia, Grand Opera House, York, April 10, 7.30pm. Age advice: 16 plus; the show has some strong language and adult themes. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york/

 

Did you know?
“Sassy and brave” audience members will be invited  to share their own dating stories on the Grand Opera House stage and each will be rewarded with an Ann Summers goodie bag.