The Flannelettes
King’s Head Theatre, London N1
4/5

“A WOMAN’S only human, you should understand, she’s not just a plaything, she’s flesh and blood just like her man.”

Sadly, those lyrics of Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit Do Right Woman, Do Right Man mean little to the thuggish abusers who inflict misery upon the women of the deindustrialised south Yorkshire town in which Richard Cameron’s latest play is set.

They do however resonate with Delie and her Motown tribute band The Flannelettes in which the latter, played with delicate naivety by Emma Hook, is flanked by her Aunty Brenda (Suzan Sylvester) and the local pawnbroker George (Geoff Leesley).

Their numbers punctuate this story of devastating domestic abuse with soul hits of the ’60s in which we see Delie — in her early twenties but with “a mental age of about 12” — on her annual summer holiday to Brenda’s dilapidated women’s refuge.

And a refuge it proves to be, as the all-consuming cycles of abuse begin to spin around Delie and her new-found friend Roma (Holly Campbell).

The recent child-abuse scandals in Rotherham demonstrate how such vulnerable young women receive minimal protection from the inept, or even corrupt, authorities charged with their protection.

That’s tellingly demonstrated in the person of Jim (James Hornsby), a local policeman with his very own misdemeanours to hide.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Cameron’s engaging script introduces moments of light into the darkest of scenarios by crafting six believable characters.

Mike Bradwell’s sensitive production allows them enough room to establish their individual voices though, as a result, there are moments when the pace flags.

Even so, you cannot help but be transported into Cameron’s world of broken dreams.

Those seemingly innocent hits of the ’60s will never sound quite the same again.

Runs until June 6, box office: kingsheadtheatre.com