Review: Calendar Girls at Leeds Grand Theatre

FIRST it was a film, then it became a stage play and then in 2017 the story of those intrepid ladies from the Rylstone Women’s Institute was turned into a musical. At that time, it was entitled “The Girls” but has now reverted to the original title of the film and play, “Calendar Girls”. After an original read through at Burnsall Village Hall in 2017, the production itself opened in Leeds at “The Grand” before transferring to The Phoenix Theatre in London. It has now returned to Leeds to open a nine-month tour of the UK.

As with the film and stage play, the musical was inspired by the true story of the above group of ladies, who in 1999 decided to appear nude for a Women’s Institute calendar in order to raise funds to buy a settee for their local hospital, in memory John Baker of one of their husbands.

This musical comedy shows life in their Yorkshire village, how it happened, the effect on husbands, sons and daughters, how a group of ordinary ladies achieved something extraordinary, and ultimately how they became a global phenomenon.

Whilst it has this poignant story of John’s death and the effect this had on his friends in the village at the core of the musical, it is hilarious from start to finish and Tim Firth’s writing is superb throughout. Some of the script from the original film and stage play remains but a lot of new material has been added much of which is extremely funny.

And what can I say about Gary Barlow’s music. Toe-tapping good; some fabulous poignant ballads and some rip-roaring numbers combine to show just what a talented songwriter the Take That front man is and it is no wonder he has written and co-written 14 number one singles, has sold over 50 million records worldwide and is a six times Ivor Novello Award winner. Tim and Gary both grew up in Frodsham in Cheshire and they have been friends for twenty five years and this shows in how well they have combined together to produce this fabulous musical. And plaudits must also be given to Director Matt Ryan who has worked alongside Tim Firth to stage this superb piece of musical entertainment. I was very impressed with the backdrop featuring a cracking view of the Yorkshire Dales plus also on stage a stone wall and kissing gate.

There are some great performances from the cast several of whom are well known names from theatre and television I was very impressed with Anna-Jane Casey as Annie and thought she was excellent with her solos of Scarborough and Kilimanjaro. Likewise, Rebecca Storm as Chris was outstanding in both her acting and also her solo of Sunflower.

There were some excellent comic numbers – Who Wants A Silent Night (a great jazz number) sung by the comedienne Karen Dunbar as Cora, What Age Expects by Ruth Madoc as Jessie, I’ve Had A Little Work Done by Denise Welch as Celia and My Russian Friend And I by Sara Crowe (best remembered as the girl in the Philadelphia avert) as Ruth. As well as these individual performances there were some fabulous chorus numbers as well – Yorkshire by the whole of the cast, Mrs Conventional by the female cast and Isabel Caswell as Jenny, plus Dare and For One Night Only by the girls. There are three young performers, the above-mentioned Isabel Caswell as Jenny (Marie’s daughter), Tyler Dobbs as Tommo (Cora’s son) and Danny Howker as Danny (Chris and Rod’s son and all three of these turned in great performances. I must also give plaudits to Fern Britton in the role of Marie who turned in an excellent performance as did Sebastian Abineri as Colin, Phil Corbitt as John Baker, Ian Mercer as Rod and Derek Elroy as Lawrence, the photographer.

To put the icing on the cake on the night I attended we were in the presence of five of the original Calendar Girls and at the end they went on stage and were joined by both Tim Firth and Gary Barlow

This is a superb show which runs throughout the rest of the school holidays until 1 September and tickets are still available for some shows by visiting www.leedsgrandtheatre.com.

by John Burland