Calendar Girls

The Hook Players’ production in the Elizabeth Hall brought laughter, tears and applause from the packed auditorium as well as supporting Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research by the donation of all their profits and sales of The Hook Players Calendar. The well designed set of the church hall used by Napely WI worked well and was used effectively. “John’s Hill” did not quite work for me visibly but it conveyed the idea. All the props were appropriate for each scene. The costumes were well chosen for each character and the two “sexy Mother Christmas” outfits were ideal, with appropriate hats for Marie and Lady Cravenshire. Jennie Barr as Chris, the instigator for the fund raising, and Helen Carter as Annie the central character, who loses her husband John to cancer, played off each other well. Mike Cooper as John gave a very convincing and moving portrayal with a good dalesman accent. Each and every one of the ladies gave good characterisations - Jennie Craven (Cora) as the church organist and single mother worried about her daughter discovering she was going to pose nude for a calendar; Alison Roberts (Celia) the glamorous wife who only joined the golf club so she saw her husband; Sofia Belfelice (Ruth) who is timid and rather insecure; Elizabeth Knight (Jessie) the warm hearted retired teacher who embarrasses the photographer; Wilma Jordan (Marie) the snobby social climbing President of the WI; Christine Bradley (Brenda) who doubled up as Liam the American TV advert producer for soap powder; Fergus Kirkham (Rod) the husband of Chris and holding together their florist business. Catriona Terrell gave us the upper class but shockable Lady Cravenshire. Michele Gulranjani looked very professional as Elaine the beautician; John Hamshare (Lawrence) fulfilled the role of the photographer well and the scene for the fund raising calendar was well done with strategically placed props. The floating down of the letters, with extracts being read, no doubt brought a tear or two to the eyes of the audience. All the cast worked well as a team, with clear diction and projection. .

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