I have just returned home from Chichester having been lucky enough to see the first preview of 'Calendar Girls'. And what a fantastic evening it turned out to be. This play far surpasses the film version. The fantastic ensemble cast really takes the story and runs with it. I can only speak for myself but it seemed that the audience where laughing equally as hard as I was, and surely the fact that most people were on ther feet at the curtain call is enough proof that everyone there must have enjoyed a fantastic evening. Really a show that must be seen.

I too was there tonight and I totally agree. It was a very special evening and felt as though I was at the beginning of something great. I am sure that in many years to come I will be saying that i was there.
I have to say though that apart from laughing, I also cried and this is from a theatre cynic who knows the story.

Totally agree with previous postings - its a hilarious and poignant show. There are some changes from the film that make it work
far better. The casting is very strong and the nudity is tasteful and very cleverly done (no spoilers). The sad stuff is outweighed by some big laughs and great one liners.
Highly recommended!

totally agree. best matinee witnessed in thirty years of theatre going at chichester. bravo.

i was at the matinee today as well and it was terrific. they seemed to have a fab time, and seemed really pleased with their well deserved standing ovation

my money is that it will go into the gielgud after the 8 week limited season of six chracters in search of an author - it should do really well if they keep the pricing sensible!

I was also there on Saturday afternoon and have to say it was a fantastic show. All the cast are great and look to be having a good time performing in this show and what I can see is a classic in the making. I was hugely impressed with the way the story has transferred from the film - adding a new dimension and making the combination of the sad and laugh a minute moments work so well together. Bravo to Chichester for this excellent finale to another great season and I wish everyone involved in this production the very best of luck for the coming tour and hopefully a well deserved London season. I am still laughing now about Sian Phillips and her two balls of wool and knitting needles. Go see this show!

I saw the opening night and it was
bloody marvellous to quote a line from the play and very glad to see the critic i've read this morning agrees. hip hip hooray. rush rush rush.

Did any actress leave anything uncovered during the nude scenes?

But unfortunately, it's got a bit a critical mauling from several papers.

Hopefully word of mouth will be strong if it's good, and I think the play has plenty of appeal anyway.

We've booked to see it in Manchester at the Lowry in a few weeks and are really looking forward to it.

Something tells me this play is going to be pretty much critic-proof...

It may well be critic-proof Weez, but I think the production team would do well to pay attention to the critics.
I saw the play last week at the Bradford Alhambra on the girls' home territory and I was disappointed.

I booked about six weeks in advance and got the last three seats together in the stalls, so anticipation was running high in Bradford. And on the night the theatre was packed, the foyer was decked out with bunting and fund-raising stuff, some of the real Calendar Girls were there, and it was one of those nights where you recognised loads of people in the audience so there was a great atmosphere.

Then the melancholic and undistinguished keyboard music started playing and the play started. And I was reminded throughout the evening of another online post about Our House saying it was cringeworthy! I'd forgotten about the father/son stuff in Our House but I was reminded of it again here (Tim Firth wrote the scripts for both). The first thing they try to establish is that the dying husband is a great guy. But you only know he's great because the women tell each other (and you) that he is. And there are pregnant pauses where you're not sure what you are supposed to be concluding. But then Patricia Hodge starts crying so you realise you're probably supposed to feel sad at this point.

But then there's the fun stuff that's in the film: The M&S cake gets entered in the baking competition; the bored-at-the-WI jokes are funny; the idea occurs, and the photography sequence concluding Act I is brilliant. At this point the play is absolutely begging for a decent score, as that sequence is superbly staged and very much lends itself to a musical theatre climax. The audience is having a brilliant time as we queue for our interval magnums.

And then Act II is like the start: mawkish, thin and directionless. Shall it be a play about failing friendships or adulterous husbands or commercial exploitation or the pressure of fame. Or maybe it will be a little bit of everything and not much of anything. Actors stand around the door to the village hall in a U shape whilst the absent party makes an entrance. If they're waving their hands in the air it means they're frustrated. If they're covering their face with their hands it means they're sad. Then there's a group hug. This is directing-by-numbers.

And so the play that has the audience on such a high at the end of Act I completely loses it in Act II and is greeted with polite, restrained applause.

A missed opportunity - the author and director need to sit through Billy Elliot to learn how to do a screen-to-stage adaption with imagination and creativity.

Very warmly recieved at the Lowry Manchester when it opened last night. The play was stopped about 2 minutes in due to a technical fault and we had to wait half an hour while it was sorted, but it was taken in good humour and restarted with ' certain scenic elements omitted' (well that's what the announcement was anyway).
There does seem to be problem with the pacing- the first act has a lot of exposition and i thought one scene in particular was unnecessary (the one set at Christmas, which whilst very funny didn't seem to add much to the story). The humour seems to have increased but at times i thought it bordered on farce (particularly Brigit Forsyth's faint at the end of act 1). The second act didn't seem to convey the sense of the enormous success of the calender which was apparent in the film. I did find the scene with the letters very moving.
This may seem overly critical though for i thought it was a very good production with some very good performances.I particularly liked Lynda Belingham and Sian Phillips.

Does anyone know where the tour is continuing after Christmas? The website hasn't been updated to include the new dates. I know it's coming back to the Lowry in March as I've already booked but would like to find out where else it's going to as i would like to get some tickets as Christmas presents for relatives.

I know it is coming to the Mayflower for the first week of March- tickets can be booked from next Thursday. Other than that I don't know where it is going before it reaches the West End!