The Tusk Club in Brighton was the venue last night for a blast from the past with true heart and personality as it hosted a performance of ‘Who Do They Think They Are?’ from Liz Trait Productions, showing that whilst the band may be no more, their legacy, songs and ethos live on in the people who once watched them from afar.
The set-up for the show is a group of friends holding a reunion with their dance buddies. After some disappointing apologies from those who’d promised to attend, the four remaining women are left to make the best of things and put on a show for themselves to enjoy. They are all now approaching a more senior age, although some are more ready to acknowledge this, and united by their shared history and the challenges of being a grown-up. There are old rivalries at play, memories of unfairness, and frustrations about what they are trying to do, but at the centre of the story is the potential for the women to support each other as they face new challenges. Very much the ‘Girl Power’ philosophy that the Spice Girls taught us all.
Tusk Club, 10th April 2026
What we really enjoyed in this performance was the clever writing. The backstories of the women were hinted at, allowing us to join the dots without being spoonfed. As their event progresses, we learn about the sibling tensions, the power of secrets and how withheld information can be used for power as well as protection. The play shines a light on women who are often in the background in other stories, their issues secondary to those of the men or younger people. The characters lament their presence in their own lives and ask when they stopped being noticed. This is a strong theme, and it was well handled throughout the performance.
The small venue of The Tusk Club made this performance feel very personal, with the actors living their roles directly in front of us with nowhere to hide. We were impressed with their quiet moments, the stage leaving just one or two characters alone to decide how they feel at that moment. We also enjoyed the enthusiastic way they allowed themselves to be seen on stage, with few inhibitions as they took on their Spice Girls personas and performed with real joy. The characters are all very different, and the actors made these differences pronounced without falling into clichés.
Liz Tait is a Victoria Wood Playwriting Prize for Comedy shortlisted writer, behind A Different Song, which featured as part of the Worthing Festival and Chichester Fringe, followed by a successful tour of London, Brighton, and Arundel. Liz’s previous work includes Kissing it Better, Baron’s Court Theatre, and three plays for the Brighton-based theatre company Beside the Seaside Productions, Here Comes The Bride, Limelight, and Magnus Volk’s Electric Train of Thought, which earned five-star reviews and a number of awards, including the Fringe Review Award for ‘Outstanding Theatre ‘ and an Argus Angel award. The show features a cast of four: Kate Peltzer Dunn, Sophie Dearlove, Sally Best and Helen Rogers, who each take on a different Spice Girl persona.
The Spice Girls might have been out there and living it large for everyone to see, and we could tell these characters had been there for every moment at when the mayhem was at its highest, but they have still held onto the music, still retained the essence of Girl Power and by the time we left them, with a step perfect performance under their belts, we knew they were still going to be there for each other in the future.
Cast
Marion – Kate Peltzer Dunn (Assistant Producer)
Pippa – Helen Rogers (Choreographer)
Kim – Sophie Dearlove
Sarah – Sally Best
Liz Tait – Writer, Producer and Director
