Calendar Girls - The Musical

LADOS's second show this year, Calendar Girls - The Musical, is based on the real life events of a Yorkshire Women's Institute where members get together to create a less traditional WI Calendar to raise money for their local hospital, following the death of one of the members' husband. As with all real life stories, not all is plain sailing - there are fall outs, errant teenagers and of course the formidable upper echelons of the Women's Institute to deal with. There was definitely a buzz about this show at the Lancaster Grand as there has been everywhere I've seen it.

We all have that one friend whose dreams and schemes are bound to get you into trouble and you go along with their ideas because, once in a blue moon, one of their ideas is actually quite a good one - this is Annie's best friend, Chris, played by Victoria Muir. Chris is a very spirited individual, with a compassionate streak,  generally dealing with things with her dry sense of humour. Victoria's performance showed all these facets throughout. Chris's husband Rod, (John's best mate) was played with deadpan humour by Matthew Boardman, always supportive of his wife, even if not always agreeing with her.

Annie and John, the lifelong friends of Chris and Ron, were played by Hannah Morris and Steve Johnson. The character of Annie is pivotal to the story, as it's generally her journey we are following, and she has to take us with her through the emotions: love, despair, loss and hope amongst others. With her impressive performance both acting-wise and vocally throughout every number, Hannah took us there, her songs invoking many a smile and tear in the audience. Annie is left a widow by the loss of John, played by Steve Johnson. Steve played the role as the life and soul, so when Annie lost him, you felt that the whole group had lost him - his eulogy to himself hit the right notes with the audience, managing to leave us with a smile. With Steve not shaving his head for the role for this production (and I can understand the reluctance), the reveal scene lost any of its meaning - people appeared shocked at him taking his hat off rather than at his hair loss. 

Gail Bowskill made the most of the role of Cora. You'd assume that the person stuck in town due to circumstance, choir mistress, single mother and to top it all Vicar's daughter would be a bit of a wallflower. Initially she does come across as that, but as the show unfolds, so do the layers of each of the characters - Cora as much as anybody's, and Gail played it with aplomb.

The role of Jessie, played by Kirsty Callaly, is the "old girl in the room". Jessie is a retired schoolteacher, physically and mentally fighting against the inevitability of time. Kirsty gave us a poignant portrayal, and her "What Age Expects" left the audience, old and young, in thoughtful mood. Kirsty was playing somebody around thirty years senior to herself, and on the very odd occasion moved a tad too easily for someone who's no spring chicken. Thing is, had the performance not been so compelling to watch, I probably wouldn't have noticed. Her relationship with Colin (played well by John Savage) was quite believable.

Rebekah Dallas as Celia gave a good performance as the bored ex-hostess, (possibly) trophy wife of Denis (Comfortably played by James Shields). Rebekah relished playing the role and obviously enjoyed letting people know she'd had a little work done.

Ruth is the quiet, understated member of the group who is always eager to please everyone. If you need something doing, you know she will have done it tenfold. Vanessa Whittle effortlessly took Ruth through her journey from the timid put-upon wife to the fearless (with a little help from her "Russian friend"), empowered woman.

Joanne Metcalfe played the redoubtable Marie, Chair of this WI Group with the authority befitting the character.

In amongst all of these characters are the late teen children of some of the characters, Danny (Chris and Rod's son), Tommo (Cora's son) and Jenny, Marie's daughter, but (spoiler alert) we don't know that until the close of Act One.

All three played their roles really well.  You felt Chris' exasperation when Danny (Gabe Cooper) was being led astray by Jenny (Caeragh McCloy), the rebellious girl who liked bunking off and flying in the face of her mother's self-importance.  Then we had hormonally charged Tommo (Cameron Isherwood) - Danny's best mate and Cora's fatherless son with a vicar granddad and a crush on Celia. Every scene they were in made you sit up and take notice. If these three are part of what the future of theatre in the area is, then the future is bright.

Miss Wilson (Tea) and Miss Wilson (Coffee) were played well by Kerry Hartin and Charlotte McCaffrey – they definitely showed us a side (or two) to them that we'd never seen before!

Andrew Thompson gave an excellent performance as Lawrence, the hospital porter and photographer. Andrew came across as shy and awkward, just as the character should be. This role is essential to the calendar scenes, guiding us from one to the next, so needed to be audible. This type of role can on occasion be lost, as "shy and awkward" sometimes translates to quiet and mumbling - not so with Andrew. Diction perfect, his cues to company, light, sound and orchestra were absolutely on point.

Other minor roles, Brenda Hulse, Lady Cravenshire and Tannoy Ted were played with enthusiasm by Jane Silvester, Sylvia Rogerson and Phil Huddart

Staging was generally an LED screen depicting the major areas with props brought on to suit. I do have to say I'm yet to be convinced by Projections as (to me) they lose something when it comes to both depth and intimacy. Saying that, the tableau created on the calendar pictures were a reflection of the programme throughout the photography scene. Lighting and sound were good, with most scene changes accomplished promptly and without incident.

Under Musical Director Anna Eddowes-Scott, the principals flourished. She'd obviously enjoyed this journey with "the girls", and it showed in both their performances and their appreciation.

The quick turnaround between ELF and this show must have meant that Director/Producer Suzanne Ward's feet barely touched the ground for the first five months of the year. Suzanne should be proud of what she has achieved in this show in such a short rehearsal time. To those six brave individuals onstage, and to the women who started this journey, I salute you.

This has been the third show I have seen this year where brocolli has been either a lyric, or part of the dialogue..... any more and I'll develop florets!

I personally think that the musical of Calendar Girls is the best re-telling of the story. The film, play and musical have one direct thread between them, and that is its writer, Tim Firth. Without that link, maybe the show may not have had the heart that it does, the power to make us laugh one minute and cry the next. Having now seen the show a few times, I still find it funny and poignant.

The main thing I have noticed in all of the productions I have seen is how different each one is. These are the same characters, the same lines and the same songs being repeated in different towns/places, telling the exact same story….. but differently. There's not many shows that do that, but this one manages it because central to it all, are real people.

Thank you LADOS for your invite and hospitality

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