[deano]

Well, I've just got back from seeing the new cast of Calendar Girls, and I'm glad my ticket was free!!

Ok, it was only their 2nd show, but it was one of the worst pieces of theatre I've ever seen. Maybe I'm not the target audience (i.e. I don't have grey hair and didn't arrive on the W.I. coach trip out), but surely even those lovely ladies could tell how poor it was.

I was really looking forward to seeing June Brown play a different character other than Dot Branning, but I think it's best she stays where she is. I think she looks bloody great for 82, but so much of it was lost because you couldn't hear a word she said. She had a few good moments (trying to work out how such a small ball of knitting would cover her), but nothing too great.

Jill Baker was fine as Annie, but the script didn't give her much chance to do very much with it.

Sarah Crowe as Ruth was the best thing about the production. Very funny and played with great comic timing, and her photo is the funniest.

Jerry Hall - totally miscast. Doesn't make any sense that shes in it.

Jill Halfpenny - again, totally miscast, which is a shame, because she was pretty good. Way too young for the role and it looked silly.

Gemma Atkinson - why cast a 'name' in such a tiny role?!! What a waste of money, when one of the understudies could of played it.

Will Knightley was nothing special as John. Jack Ryder was fine.

Now for the big one...Anita Dobson!! What the..... I don't get this at all. It actually made me angry to watch someone on a west end stage perform so badly. I don't know if it was nerves, but she wouldn't stay still. Every line she said, she made some odd gesture as if she were performing to a group of aliens who couldn't understand English. Her voice really grated on me after 10 minutes too. Very poor lead role actress. Also looked out of place with her orange hair.

I just felt sorry for the real Calendar Girls, because this was such a bad interpretation of their story.

Maybe some people will enjoy this, but I really can't see this happening some how!

[itsuckstobeme]

I can't say I'm surprised. The line up has to be the most random absurd casting in west end history.

[Jan Brock]

Poor Anita the inability to stay still was evident when she performed Dolly last year as too her facial expressions to the audience were hideous. Guess the flays in this play are much more evident with a cast which sounds considerably less stellar than the cast which opened a few months ago.

She played Gertrude in that Ed Stoppard "Hamlet" didn't she ? How was she in that ?

[Pharaoh's number 2]

This is returning to Chichester in their Autumn season. It says "cast unannouced" but their advertising pic is of the current West End cast. Does this mean that it's going to close soon and perhaps go on another tour? And what will replace it in the Noel Coward?

[bananafrit]

She played Gertrude in that Ed Stoppard "Hamlet" didn't she ? How was she in that ?

She was VERY good actually.... the whole production was incredible.

[deano]

She was VERY good actually.... the whole production was incredible.

Maybe she's got better in Calendar Girls, but my god she was terrible when I saw it. Thought the same when I saw Hamlet too. The woman can't stand still and is totally wrong for the character in CG (like most of this new cast really).

[MrsDoyle]

She played Gertrude in that Ed Stoppard "Hamlet" didn't she ? How was she in that ?

As I recall she was pretty good as was Ed.

[richard2711]

Does anyone know how long the current cast will be in it for? I've heard rumours they're finishing as early as September but I thought they'd only started fairly recently!

I'd quite like to see it while Jill Halfpenny is in it, I think she's fantastic. Did anyone on here get to see her as Roxie in Chicago?