Ormskirk Advertiser
13 June 1996
LATHOM Park Chapel has never seen a wedding like it...
There were guests galore... even an international film star or two. But there was no vicar!
Well, not a real vicar. The wedding was a splendid affair but it was all make-believe.
For two days a film crew took the place of the normal congregation in the historic chapel as they recorded sequences for the film Peggy Su!
Set among Liverpool's Chinese community, the film made the headlines recently when it was awarded an Arts Council grant from the Lottery fund to boost its BBC funding.
Due to be seen in cinemas in the spring, the film stars Pamela Oei in the title role and international star Bert Kwouk as her father.
The casts? two weeks location shooting inn Liverpool ended with their trip to Lathom and a further day in the city.
But the cast was overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people at Lathom.
Tour
They treated residents of the Almhouses next to the Chapel to a meal and gave a guided tour of the film set to pupils from Lathom Park CE School.
Producer Poonam Sharma said the local residents had been "wonderful".
"They all cam out and took their own photographs and we chatted to them. People opened up their houses. It has been quite extraordinary."
This was all the more unusual as the "wedding party" consisted of some 70 people and quite a bit of equipment and large vehicles.
"Everybody here seemed to have enjoyed it. The Vicar, the Rev, Paul Kirby, has been tremendously helpful and accommodating."
Perfect
Although Peggy Su! Is set in Liverpool in 1962, Lathom Park Chapel was chose because its compact interior meant that its budget was not overstretched by having to light a large church.
"This has been perfect," said Poonam.
It was found by location manager Idris Ahmed. "I had heard about it. Somebody mentioned it to me and as soon as I came round the corner I said ?Right, that's it.?"
The film is being made by Deco film and Television and managing director Colin Rogers is co-producing it with Poonam.
The director is Frances-Anne Solomon. Merseyside film fund MIDA is helping finance it partially.
Among the extras are Manchester based writer Kevin Wong and his wife.
Kevin has only written for radio before but his Peggy Su! Script brought instant acclamation from production companies approached about it.
Laundry
Peggy Su Is a 19-year-old Hong Kong girl working at her brother's Chinese laundry.
Her father writes to say he is coming over to Liverpool with her cousin Gilbert with a view to marrying her off to him.
"Peggy Su has been watching the romantic films and musicals starring Doris Day and so on she's horrified. She enlists the help of her brother and his wife to find someone she can marry for love," said Poonam.
Obviously there is a wedding scene but no-one is saying who Peggy Su marries. "There are several sub-plots going," said Poonam. "It is very very funny."
Alphonsia Emmanucle has a guest role while Stephanie Cheung has been attracting a lot of media attention in her role as Peggy Sus new stepmother, 39 years her husbands junior and very much a man-eater!
There was one sour mote after the crew had gone though.
A resident telephoned the District Council to complain about ten bin bags full of rubbish they said had been left behind after the crew had gone.
The council sent its special collection vehicle to take them away.
