The Albert Dock is as important to Liverpool’s history as it is to its future. The images of vast sailing ships from across the globe relieving their important load into the waiting arms of many a stevedore is tinged with sepia romanticism that is hard to ignore or displace in time. Neither is the image of a bustling city, one that has retained its dignity when others set out to destroy it, either through lies, blatant and outrageous disgusting ones; or through a political dogma in which they sensed that the passion of its people could bring them and their misguided ideology  down.

The Albert Dock is historic, like both the two churches that sit upon the hill, Anfield and Goodison, and the two soul carers of the Anglican and Catholic Church, the abundance of great theatre and music which feeds off the life blood that comes down the Mersey and laps at the walls that surround the Albert Dock.

Nestled between the Albert Dock and the Echo Arena, Keddy Sutton and Gillian Hardie are warming up for a busy few months ahead for the pair of very funny actors. On the back of a very successful few weeks at the Edinburgh Fringe, it is perhaps good for the soul to take a breather and contemplate what is store as they reprise their roles from last year in Dave Kirby’s superb Dreaming of a Barry White Christmas. It is good for the soul to catch a breather, it is far better for anybody else’s spirits to be in the company of two women who inspire, entertain and encourage others to laugh with joy at their antics whilst retaining a proud ethic which is impossible to knock and can only be congratulated.

As the sun reaches the half-way point on a September day, I catch up with Gillian Hardie and Keddy Sutton and ask them about the upcoming return of Dave Kirby’s play and the on-going saga of their creations Caz and Britney.

After your exploits and rightly lauded time up at the Edinburgh Fringe, how excited are you both to come back to Liverpool to reprise your roles in the Dreaming of a Barry White Christmas show?

Keddy: “I am actually thrilled as there is nothing better personally for me than being in Liverpool with friends, good mates and really good actors. Being in Liverpool for Christmas is like a dream come true for me, you know you’re in your home town and it was such a brilliant audience last year that I hope they all return and bring their friends. It’s a great space the Auditorium, its more intimate. I really enjoyed performing in the Echo Arena last year, I’m happy performing anywhere, I would be happy performing in a shop.”

Gillian: “As Keddy said it’s great to be employed at Christmas for a kick off, it can be quite an empty work time can’t it at Christmas. So do this play two years on the run is like a Christmas gift really and as Keddy said everyone in the cast is fab, they are mates as well as great actors, Dave Kirby’s great, everyone is just lovely; it’s a really good team”.

Keddy: “Work hard, play hard.”

Your relationship goes back quite a while now doesn’t it and obviously working alongside Dave and the others, you must really enjoy working together.

Keddy: “We met in 2008 during the Capital of Culture on the play Stags and Hens, written by Willy Russell and directed by Bob Eaton, and since then we realised we have a very similar sense of humour and we like improvising together and we kept getting cast as similar characters in different plays.”

Gillian: “It’s funny that isn’t it? We do the Caz and Britney act quite a lot throughout the year, we are independent actors as well, it’s just funny we keep working in the same show together, that’s a weird coincidence in itself. It’s cracking. Little bits of Caz and Britney sneak in, especially back stage, the fun, it’s lovely to hang out with you Keds, (laughs)”.

The parts you play in Dave’s play are totally different to your much loved Caz and Britney…not sure how to describe your make up for this show…shall we say the woman who comes good in the end?

Keddy: “Yes, thank you (laughs). The transformation…I nearly gave something away then, well let’s just say I have the face for radio today. I don’t know why I’ve got the make-up on as nobody can see me.”

Gillian: “It’s good as I say because we are independent actors as well.”

Keddy: “We like to pursue different projects and come back together.”

Gillian: “We did establish as Caz and Britney we do run a business so it’s nice sometimes not to have the business and just be friends and actors rather than going, “Have you rang that lady up? Have you sent that invoice? Have we sent that flyer? It’s someone else doing that and it’s like gorgeous.”

Keddy: “Sometimes it’s nice to play someone else’s characters in another person’s play. It’s equally as exciting as writing your own. It’s great to have that balance really isn’t it?”

Do you find it difficult though, is there the point where you have to suddenly step back from being the different character?

Gillian: “No, not really. It’s what we do for a living for most of the year and I think we were lucky to see our business take off but like any character you leave them and go onto the next. It is perhaps versatility but I guess there is a little piece of you lurking somewhere.”

It’s nice that this play will be on just before Christmas at the Auditorium and then you go straight into Miz Lez.

Keddy: “I know, I think we have three or four days to rehearse, we might have to get practicing.”

Gillian: “We do Miz Lez at the Unity and then we take it to The Brindley in Runcorn straight after which is lovely as we were there last year with Scottie Road and it was lovely, we were so well received so they have invited us back again for next year.”

There is a tie between the two plays, they both have characters in which they are hiding what they truly are and feel.

Gillian: “Yes, I think we just take everything to the max with Caz and Britney, we push them to the most ridiculous limits and that’s just our little naughty side; well we do what we like really as long as we don’t offend anyone which we haven’t yet. That was our main priority, these characters aren’t caricatures, they are real people and it’s the same in Barry White and that’s the beauty of doing a Scouse play to a Scouse audience. People identify with them but it’s not just that, Scouse audiences are so raucous, very clever; they love what they know to be true. They are like any audience I guess, it doesn’t matter where you are from and it translates to anybody in the audience. It’s good fun to do and its tongue in cheek and its silly humour and it’s my favourite.”

Keddy: “You’re allowed to be that at Christmas aren’t you? That’s why pantos are enjoyable because everyone can just have good fun and a laugh and enjoy a really good story with interesting characters.”

Gillian: “The thing with pantos is that a lot of the material is aimed at adults. People take their kids and there is so many innuendos in the script, the ‘ooh er  missus’ moments that goes over the kids heads but this is one for the adults to go and they will know that the play is being delivered straight to them so Barry White is a great night out for gangs of mates to forget their troubles for the evenings.”

It’s also fantastic that there is two very strong female roles within this play. Gillian is very strong in the way she deals with Thomas Minge as a boss and the way that Keddy’s character puts one over on him shall we say during the course of the two hours shows marvellously the way that Dave Kirby writes for women.

Gillian: “Dave is lovely isn’t he, he is just very down to Earth, he is very honest, very loyal and I think that is what shone out last year that he really cared about us, he really cared about the actors and that was an added bonus, he really catered towards us. He didn’t demand anything off us, he was a very good boss.”

Keddy: “It’s just really nice to be respected and in all ways, to be cared for as a person, as an actor, to have a voice.”

Gillian: “He is very inclusive, what do you think about that? Do you have any idea? At the end of the day the Director’s word is law really. Sometimes if the Director’s going to open it up and say if you have any ideas throw them at me then that’s lovely.”

It’s funny isn’t that for whatever reason, Liverpool writers, Northern writers, seem to be able to capture the strength in the female voice and their performance.

Keddy: “I think that’s true, it’s a compliment to Dave as he adapts so well, he adapts to the actor, it’s like he is thinking I know what Gill brings to the table, the strength she brings with her  and we can really make the most of her character. Dave know that Gillian is a really strong singer so he will give her a song that shows off her talent. He is very generous like that.”

Ian D. Hall