Calendar Girls The Musical

Everyone must now be familiar with the real events on which this show is based: the WI branch that was brave enough to break with tradition in 1999 by making a nude alternative to their usual calendar, in order to raise money to buy a sofa for a hospital relatives’ room. In so doing they caused a revolution, transforming the rather staid image of the WI overnight. Calendar Girls started as a film in 2003, which was then turned into a play in 2008 and eventually into a musical, which made its West End debut in 2017. Tim Firth’s original screenplay, by turns outrageously funny and desperately sad, survived these transformations well, and was enhanced by Gary Barlow’s catchy music and lyrics.

This production was originally intended for the much larger stage of the King’s Theatre but had to be moved to Players’ Studio Theatre. Ian Good’s original direction has been carefully adapted by Rachel Dean, and I felt it was probably better suited to this more intimate environment. Caroline Moloney’s simple set of a backdrop of rolling hills and typical village hall wooden floor was perfect, with furniture and props being brought on and off by the cast so discretely (under SM Becky Broad’s supervision) that we hardly noticed it happening. The quality of the props was excellent too (Caroline again, with Jenny Edwards), especially the magnificent displays used during the photo shoot.

Sound and lighting were spot on (Trevor Blofeld and Paul Moroney), as were the costumes (take a bow Aimee Longos and Leah-Marie Turner). Louise Helyer’s little 3-piece band was perfect, producing a delightfully varied sound.

The nudity in the photo shoot scene had obviously been very carefully planned by the Directors. Everything was tastefully concealed without looking artful, so that no one was embarrassed, but I have great admiration for you all - you were so brave, and I hope you found it as liberating as I’ve heard it can be. Your characters were all nicely developed and every single person on stage gave an outstanding performance – your singing and acting was to the highest level.

I’m only supposed to write 500 words, so I hope you will forgive me for mentioning just a few of the many stand-out performances. Kate Thomas made Chris the outrageous and ebullient friend we’d all value in these circumstances, while Hayley Milton got the balance just right as the fragile grieving widow barely keeping it together, even before her husband died. Robert Day made John a nicely gentle, selfless person, keen to inspire others, while Jo Alldridge portrayed incomer Marie as a domineering stickler for the many WI rules. Madison Cathrow as her daughter Jenny was every inch the uncontrollable, rebellious teen – you could almost feel her exuding resentment. Archie Crockett gave a fine performance as would-be boyfriend Danny, with a well-judged descent into drunkenness and, along with schoolfriend Tommo (a confident characterisation by Max Wallace), they really made us feel the excruciating embarrassment their mothers’ antics caused. Newcomer to Players, Albert de Jongh, was ideal as the timid and embarrassed photographer Lawrence and we could see his confidence growing as the photo shoot proceeded.

Wow! You made us laugh and you reduced us to tears, but my overwhelming feeling at the end was of the joy that the support of friends can bring. I shall long remember the vibrant image you left us with: a sofa in a field full of sunflowers.

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