Calendar Girls

Synopsis

A group of extraordinary women, members of a very ordinary Yorkshire WI, persuade one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference - no more photos of Wharfedale Bridges or Norman churches for them. Overcoming their initial reserve, the friends drop their dressing gowns, modesty spared only by artfully placed cakes, knitting and flower arrangements. Puzzling their husbands, mortifying their children, and riding the wrath of the outraged WI, they spark a global phenomenon. But as media interest snowballs, the Calendar Girls find themselves exposed in ways they’d never expected, revealing more about themselves than they’d ever planned. A very English story with a very English heart, Calendar Girls is quirky, poignant and hilarious. Adapted by Tim Firth from the Miramax film of the same name, it is based on uplifting, inspiring true events.

Our Review:

Damian Robson - 21 March 2011

The smash hit tour of Calendar Girls has arrived at the Sunderland Empire for a sell-out run, and the original girls should be very proud of their achievements.

The story tells of the exploits of a group of WI members who decide to strip for a calendar in the hope of raising enough money to buy a sofa for the hospital, which cared for John Baker (husband of one of the Calendar Girls) in his final months. Angela, his wife and her close group of friends in the WI decide that the usual fare of photos of the village and rural life is not selling enough and what is needed is something that does sell. The answer to that is flesh!

I can’t decide why for me this production didn’t work, no matter how much I willed it, somehow the production just failed to take off. It could be down to direction, the cast, or the play not working in this venue. The story is human, heart-warming, and touching and as such, it had the potential to be both profoundly moving and funny...

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