Calendar Girls

So, confession time! I haven’t seen Calendar Girls on stage before in any guise and I turned the film off after half an hour as I was bored, despite the cast list reading like a who’s who of British acting royalty! Despite my love of amateur theatre, I admit to being slightly trepidatious as I took my seat after the fabulously warm welcome from the front of house staff. But CDS succeeded where Mesdames Mirren, Walters, Imrie et al. failed as I was captivated from the very beginning and absolutely loved the whole thing. The story is pretty wellknown given the coverage of the original W.I. group in Knapeley, Yorkshire when they decided that their baps could do more than just be part of the bake sale! Given that the W.I. have a certain image and counted the late Queen Elizabeth II amongst their number, the calendar caused nationwide attention to descend upon this heretofore little-known village. 

The set was kept reasonably simple but worked extremely well to reflect the various settings needed, ably assisted by some very slick stagehands. The directors, Sam Kick & Fi Bingham had done an excellent job in turning out a cast that built on their obvious talent by being very well rehearsed and obviously enjoying every minute. It came across as a show that was later in the run rather than opening night when the odd nerve can show itself but this cast performed confidently and the prompt was very subtly secreted about the set so as to be on hand, but I doubt many of the audience even noticed she was there, never mind noticed her minimal input.

Costumes for these types of productions can often look easy because it seems as if everyone is just in their “normal clothes” but it can take quite a lot of work and forethought to make this work well so as it is true to the characters and the setting. Everything here rang true with no incongruous elements. And as regards props – was there ever a production where the location, size, shape and setting of the props was so vital?! One wrongly placed sunflower and the audience would have definitely got more than they bargained for before the watershed! The production value was very high which absolutely was matched by the quality of the performances.

The acting across the board was of a very high standard, showcasing the warmth and emotional side of the characters who were dealing with many of life’s curveballs, but all tempered with the famous Yorkshire grit. As is often the way when a common bond unites a group of diverse characters, their differences can be both the source of tension and a unifying force. 

Chris (Jackie Sherlock) and Annie (Lydia Lavill) are the ying and yang type of friends with Chris’ natural exuberance tempered slightly by Annie’s more reserved nature but equally, providing Annie with an excuse to indulge in the odd bit of rule breaking! Jackie’s portrayal as flower shop owning Chris ably demonstrated the layers of a character who places so much focus on this project that her actual livelihood is put at risk. Lydia put in a very strong performance as Annie, whose husband John’s cancer is the driving force behind the calendar. She also showed again her prowess with accents having move to a lovely Yorkshire burr in place of Beverley’s estuary twang in Abigail’s Party earlier this year.

Jemma as Cora gave us the character that one might not instantly associate with being a member of the W.I.. With a more colourful past (despite being a vicar’s daughter), she brings a deadpan, irreverent humour to the group, contrasted by Jessie (Brigid O’Connor) who as a teacher, takes no messing. Both Jemma and Brigid gave great performances showing the progression from disbelief to fully supporting the project. Celia and Ruth (Jayne Kelly & Kelsey Dornan) are the characters who arguably find themselves the most along the way. Celia is the more obvious fish out of water initially, the “posh” one who doesn’t quite seem to fit into the local village W.I. environment. Ruth is the meeker member of the group until she finally finds her voice and starts to do what she wants to do. Jayne & Kelsey provided great performances across the portrayed journey. 

Marie (Nic Smith) is the president of the Women’s Institute and portrays the stereotypical W.I. member – old fashioned, rather rigid and definitely not likely to be on board with a calendar that wasn’t about local bridges! Nic gave a great portrayal of the rather snobby “pillar of the community”!

John and Rod (John Bingham & Andy Cholerton) are the husbands of Annie and Chris (the descriptor of “longsuffering” could possibly apply to Rod, at least in his mind!). John is the catalyst of the calendar idea as the ladies seek to provide a new sofa for families of people undergoing treatment. Rod has the unenviable task of trying to temper the force of nature that is Chris, quite secure in the knowledge that she is probably going to do it anyway! John and Andy gave performances that were spot on when the male roles are vital to the overall story but the girls (and sunflowers!) are the stars of the show – but both gave the heart and the support that is vital amongst such matriarchal groupings.

The cast was rounded out by Angie Astell-Roberts, Ann Escritt, Henry Hart, Chloe Couper and Wayne Jones as Brenda Hulse, Lady Cravenshire, Lawrence, Elaine and Liam respectively. Great ensemble performances all round but a particular shout out to Henry whose nerves as Lawrence having been asked to take the photographs, was so convincing in act 1 that I was suspecting the actor had been struck down by stagefright until I saw him again in act 2. Or maybe he had something particularly potent in the dressing room!

A great production all round which was extremely well appreciated by the audience and I hope went on to enjoy a very successful run. Codsall Dramatic Society is becoming synonymous with quality productions in my mind so next time, I shall leave all misgivings behind secure in the knowledge that I am in for a treat, as I was tonight! Might give sunflowers a miss for a while though!

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