Three Salons at the Seaside

Three Salons at the Seaside
Directed by	Philippa Lowthorpe
Produced by	Philippa Lowthorpe
Cinematography	Graham Smith
Edited by	Fred Hart
Music by	Peter Salem
Production company	BBC Bristol
Distributed by	BBC Worldwide
Release date	29 August 1994 (1994-08-29)(UK)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Three Salons at the Seaside is a 1994 British documentary film directed by Philippa Lowthorpe. First broadcast on 29 August 1994 on BBC Two to mark the centenary of Blackpool Tower, the film follows the staff and customers of three hair salons operating in Blackpool, England. Three Salons at the Seaside received renewed attention after it was added to BBC iPlayer in 2022. ^{[1] [2]}

Synopsis

Three Salons at the Seaside follows the staff and customers of Vanity Box, Mary's Way, and Tricia's, three hair salons operating in residential areas of Blackpool. While Blackpool is a seaside town known for its beach and resorts, the film focuses on elderly women living in the town going about their daily lives, centred around their visits to the salons. ^{[2] [3]}

Production

The film was filmed in early 1994 in Blackpool, Lancashire. Lowthorpe stated that she was inspired to make Three Salons at the Seaside to show "a world of women talking that you don't otherwise see". She said the women reminded her of her own female working class relatives in neighbouring Yorkshire. ^[4]

Broadcast and reception

Three Salons at the Seaside first aired on 29 August 1994 on BBC Two as part of a special night of programming to mark the centenary of Blackpool Tower, alongside the film Dream Town. ^[4] The film received a positive reception, and in 1995 it was nominated for Best Single Documentary at the RTS Television Awards. ^[5]

In 2015, a rip of a tape recording of the film was uploaded onto YouTube. ^[4] The film received renewed attention in 2022, when it was added to BBC iPlayer. Tribune described Three Salons at the Seaside as being a "camp classic" and compared it to the work of Victoria Wood. ^{[3] [4]}

Legacy

In 2022, an episode of the American mockumentary series Documentary Now! , entitled "Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport", was based on Three Salons at the Seaside. The episode was written by Seth Meyers and starred Cate Blanchett and Harriet Walter; the fictional salon Salon de Edwina was filmed at the site of Mary's Way, which was featured in the original documentary and had closed in 2011. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2023, Craig Cash called Three Salons at the Seaside a key influence on Caroline Aherne, his co-writer and co-creator of the comedy series The Royle Family, citing its focus on characters and dialogue. ^{[4] [6]}

References

1. "Three Salons at the Seaside". BBC Two . Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
2. Durkin, Tony (2022-12-02). "Three Salons at the Seaside documentary filmed in Blackpool in 1994 a hit all over again". The Blackpool Gazette . Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
3. Evans, Denise (2022-12-03). "Blackpool hair salons become cult icons thanks to obscure 90s doc". Lancs Live . Archived from the original on 2024-02-23. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
4. White, Jennifer Jasmine (2024-08-29). "Three Salons at Thirty". Tribune . Archived from the original on 2024-11-17. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
5. "Three Salons at the Seaside Awards". IMDb . Archived from the original on 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
6. Frost, Caroline (2023-12-25). "Caroline Aherne was an ordinary girl with an extraordinary talent". Radio Times . Archived from the original on 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2025-01-18.