It has been a long-held ambition of director Hannah Chissick to stage Nell Dunn's mid-1980s comedy at Harrogate's historic Turkish Baths. As site-specific performances go, you won't find a site more specific than this, though as no more than 50 people can squeeze into the steam rooms at a time, it becomes quite literally the hottest ticket in town.
Harrogate Theatre's publicity material coyly suggests the production "may contain nudity", but why not come right out and admit it? The show features stark-naked women in a tiny Moorish gazebo with condensation running down the walls. And though we are assured that the heating system has been shut down a couple of hours before showtime, the plunge pool looks increasingly tempting.
Still, Chissick deserves credit for her audacity, and her cast should be complemented for showing such bare-faced cheek.
Dunn's concept is pretty straightforward: six women from different walks of life congregate weekly at their local baths, and when the council threatens their haven with closure, they determine to sit tight and sweat it out.
The performances are impressive enough to withstand scrutiny at such close quarters. Brash Josie (Josie Walker) seems perfectly at home in her body, while neurotic Nancy (Gaynor Barrett) appears to be an unwelcome visitor in hers. Victoria Carling's Jane adroitly captures the anxiety of a mature student aware of her maturity catching up with her, and Kate Rutter gives an embattled performance as the baths attendant whose job is on the line.
Best of all, Lorraine Cheshire and Judy Wilson make a deeply poignant pair as a disturbed, compulsive eater and her devoted mother, who nonetheless hopes she will one day discover her daughter "dead in her chair".
Chissick's production has a brisk, popular feel, even while it flushes out the darker recesses of the characters' lives. What more can you ask of a theatrical experience that sends you out stimulated, satisfied and a good couple of pounds lighter?
· Until July 30. Box office: 01423 502116.
