Amber Online

When she arrives from Donegal on her ramshackle motor bike and sidecar Peggy O’Rourke certainly puts the cat among the pigeons in North Shields. Her son, Bert, the loan shark who runs the pub and has his finger in several pies is not thrilled to see her. The mysterious KEVIN watches her constantly. But the women in the pub darts team warm to her immediately, especially JULIE, RITA and KATHY, beset with problems in their own lives and looking for answers.

The story is set in North Shields, a small coastal town in the North East of England and is structured around three weekly darts matches; in between the matches we observe the lives of the characters.

Using a blend of magic, fantasy and dreams, the film treads a knife-edge between humour and tragedy. The audience is drawn into the personal dramas surrounding JULIE, RITA and KATHY; battering, alcohol, drugs and abuse are juxtaposed with the camaraderie of the darts nights where the women come together with a common aim: to win and leave their troubles at home.

Peggy, irreverent, funny, bossy and sexy brings an image of an older woman rarely seen on the big screen. She interferes unashamedly and with mixed consequences she helps JULIE, RITA and KATHY understand that they have the power to change their lives if they really want to.

• Maureen Harold
• Amber Styles
• Anna-Maria Gascoigne
• Pat Leavy

Awards

Most original film scenario, La Baule (91)

Public Prize, Créteil, Paris (92)

Royal Television Society Best Network Programme (92)

Prix Europa Television Programme of the Year -Special Commendation : Fiction (92)

Prix Futura Berlin Television Fiction (93)

Blue Ribbon American Film & Video Association (93)