anyone as shocked as me at how terrible Anita Dobson was in Calendar Girls??

she ruined the whole thing

I have sat through some poor amateur dramatic productions in my time but the worst of them could act her off the stage

how is she acting in a major West End show??

she delivered EVERY SINLGE LINE in the same shrill way all evening until I was ready to scream

Celebrity casting brings in the audience up to a point but not only is she talentless she isnt even a celebrity!!

Erm ... wasn't she nominated for an Olivier at some point or have I got that totally wrong?

I have heard she isn't by any means stunning in CG but well she has been on the West End stage before so it doesn't seem a vast stretch to me ...

It's been five years since I last saw her on stage but she did very well then. And when I first saw her in a panto at the Hackney Empire eleven years ago everyone was saying how great she was. If she's not up to much this time it can't really be considered a trend, and perhaps she was cast because she has years of experience behind her and not because she has any claims to be a celebrity.

I'm almost tempted to recommend you to go and see CG and witness for yourself how appalling she is - I can promise you - you will be staggered

it IS like a pantomime performance actually - but this is a straight play!

The show itself is good fun but she ruins it

*shrug* Entirely possible. I was responding only to your question about how she could possibly have been acting in a West End show, and the not-so-implied criticism about celebrity casting.

When's the last time she was on stage, anyway?

exactly - its not like she has had a lot of acting work since Eastenders in the 80's that would qualify her as a "celebrity" that would being audiences in

and when you see her total lack of talent you immediately understand why!!

Sorry, I still think you're missing my point. You seemed to be criticizing her under the rubric of celebrity casting. I am saying she is not celebrity casting, she is proven West End theatre actress, and in fact garnered an Olivier nomination which is no small thing. The fact that she starred in EastEnders 20 years ago is to my mind somewhat irrelevant.

Totally aside from all of that, because this is after all an Anita Dobson thread, I was asking when she was on stage last.

Wasn't she Ed Stoppard's mum in the touring Hamlet a few years back??

no I'm critisisng the producers for using so-called celebrities for getting bums on seats and as a result we have to sit through Anita Dobson and her STOCK *lancashire* for a character from *Yorkshire*

and what was eaily easily the worst performance I have ever seen on any stage amateur or proffessional!!!

And we have to sit through your terrible punctuation and spelling. What's the difference, apart from the fact that you'll never put a bum on a seat?

Moderators note: this message has been deleted as it contained a direct insult to another member. As I think this thread has now run its course, I am also closing it.