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:

John Dixon - 30 March 2010

Is it a play? Is it a film? No its real life. With the original calendar now raising over two million pounds, Calendar Girls is still packing a punch for Leukaemia Research by being a hit at theatres across the Country. The story of the WI is sadly based on fact, with the ladies trying to raise money to mark the death of one of their husbands. But while their “nude” calendar became a worldwide hit, it was the smash hit film that brought the story once again to everyone’s attention. But then Tim Firth, wrote the play Calendar Girls, which not only captures the comedy in the story but switches seamlessly to the tragedy and those all important tender thought provoking moments.

We first meet the ladies of the WI as one of their husbands (Colin Tarrant) is falling ill, soon his illness destroys him and his wife Annie (Jan Harvey) tries to raise funds for the hospital in his memory. The idea of a nude calendar sends shockwaves through the WI but with ...

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