Back in 1985, John Godber and his wife Jane Thornton wrote the first incarnation of Shakers as a companion piece to his massive hit Bouncers - Shakers about nightclub waitresses, Bouncers about nightclub doormen; a match made in night-economy heaven.
The world has turned and these days it's not quite so great to be in the middle of that kind of environment, so the writing duo has updated things, almost 40 years on.
Pubs are closing and gin bars are so yesterday, but cocktails and decadence are back for the roaring 2020s - apparently.
The result is Shakers - Under New Management for his John Godber Company and Theatre Royal Wakefield, which opens a short tour at Oldham Coliseum tomorrow night (until Saturday) and closes at Halifax Viaduct from November 8-12. The high street might be struggling to get back to normal but Shakers bar is under new management determined to make it the place to be seen.
For waitresses Adele, Nicky and Mel, their lives juggle home, work, school and everything in between, but how long can it be maintained? Jane Thornton explained: “On the first tour of Up 'n' Under, I played Hazel and at many venues the rest of the cast also performed a late-night version of Bouncers, for which of course I was left on the sidelines.
"Thus came the impetus to write Shakers: a play that would provide strong multi-role physical theatre roles for four women that would also examine the world of the waitress – the abuse they experience daily and the struggles and triumphs of their lives.”