Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls by Tim Firth has been a film and stage musical as well as a play as performed here.      Based on a true story it tells of an inspiring group of women (WI members) who come together to raise funds by undressing for a calendar when one of their friend’s lives is touched by tragedy.     Its full of warmth, humour, pathos, relationships, friendships and masses of affection.    It is a light comedy with lots of heart.

The set was excellent and had been well crafted   There was great attention to detail with some action taking place in front of the curtain.    The set was expertly painted, especially the countryside scene of ‘John’s Hill’ by John Pibworth which deserves a special mention.   The props were many and varied and included flowers, slide projector, sunflowers, tea towels, a keyboard, piles of buns and a large piece of knitting.  

A great deal of trouble had gone into ensuring each character was dressed and made up appropriately.    The costumes ranged from everyday clothes, Victoria ‘fancy dress’ at Christmas, a couple of ‘Saucy Santa’ type dresses and black dresses.

The lighting was effective and imaginative. 

The production opened with a rendition of ‘Jerusalem’ and the WI women bantering about the tediousness of previous talks (including Broccoli and The History of Tea Towels).   And from then on, the audience was hooked.   A good deal of the story hinged on the friendship between Chris and Annie and in those roles, Carolyn Miles and Helen Lewis made a great team and established great rapport with one another and the audience.  Their friendship came under strain as Chris’s ambition threatened to swamp the original idea of the calendar.     The actual calendar shoot was managed seamlessly and cleverly so as to protect the modesty of the performers.   Erin Christy, the Director, is to be congratulated in creating a genuinely engaging production full of warmth with acting and backstage support of the highest standard.        

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