Kay Mellor’s The Syndicate is being staged at the Leeds Grand Theatre and we meet 2 of its stars - Kay’s daughter, Gaynor Faye, who has also directed the production, and Kay’s grandson, Oliver Anthony.
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00:00 It's what my mum did really brilliantly. She makes you laugh and she makes you cry
00:03 in the space of a minute and you go on a huge journey with each character. It's fantastic.
00:10 Bringing three generations together, star of stage and screen Gaynor Faye directs and
00:15 stars in the UK stage tour of popular TV programme The Syndicate, which is at the Leeds Grand
00:21 between the 18th and 28th of April. Written by Gaynor's mum, the legendary Kay Mellor,
00:26 it also stars her son Oliver Anthony, who's making his stage debut. And as luck would
00:31 have it, here are Gaynor and Oliver to discuss the production.
00:35 The Syndicate is about, obviously, a syndicate of workers. They work at Right Bayou supermarket
00:42 and they all have different reasons why winning the lottery would be brilliant for them, as
00:47 many people do. A lot of them are on the breadline and there is a threat of the shop closing
00:53 down.
00:54 The cast and the crew, they've just been amazing and so fun to work with and so collaborative.
00:58 After doing a bit of television, it's so different, the art form. It is such a thrill, it's such
01:04 a rush out there with the live audience and their response. To be in this play, it's so
01:08 special to me as well, with it all being attached to our family. So, yeah, it's an honour to
01:14 be a part of it and to be trusted with such an amazing part.
01:18 Leeds have been so supportive of my mum's work for many, many, many years. Band of Gods
01:23 stage play, Fat Friends the musical, people came out in droves to see it and absolutely
01:28 loved it. And this one is the same, you know, get your syndicate to see The Syndicate.
01:33 Leeds is my hometown. I've been brought up here, been to the ground many a time and it's
01:38 such a place of history.
01:40 Everybody's really rooting for it and wanting it to be a huge success for my mum, you know,
01:45 for her legacy. So, it can't go too far wrong because the script's brilliant, the cast are
01:51 brilliant and hopefully I've pieced it together and been a bit of glue. That's what I see
01:56 myself as, a bit of glue.