Calendar Girls

The stage version of the popular film, written by Tim Frith and under the direction of Hamish McColl, has stayed true to the stories very British roots and is all the better for it.

A group of women at Napley Women’s Institute, spurred on my one woman’s loss of her husband to cancer, decide to do a twist on the traditional W.I Calendar to attempt to raise money for a new settee at the visitors room at the hospital. Yes, they will be making jam and arranging flowers in the pictures but, much to the outrage of more traditional members of the W.I, they will be naked whilst doing it. Despite this humorous premise, the story is a great insight into the dynamics of the marriages of the different characters, their insecurities about their bodies and ultimately one finds a celebration of middle-aged sexuality and solidarity against husbands who are, oftentimes, embarrassed or unsupportive of their wives.

The show will be hitting the Noel Coward Theatre on the 4th April and, after a sell-out national tour, tickets are bound to sell out just as fast as the original Napely W.I. naked calendar did! Wonderfully likeable and, importantly, very British actresses such as Linda Bellingham and Patricia Hodge add a very friendly face to the show; everybody in the audience will feel like they know at least one of the women on the stage, perhaps some will even see themselves in one member of the cast or another.

The show is “spiked with juicy Yorkshire jokes” as the Sunday Times has commented and, if the show at times feels like “a quality soap” then, says the same reviewer, this in inevitable as such shows are “part of the backbone of our cultural life”. Perhaps this encapsulates one of the best parts of Calendar Girls, its bravery. It’s steadfast resolve to stay northern, to stay perhaps a little bit like a “quality soap” and to not be bowed by those who extol the values of ‘high-culture’ who may well think this show unworthy. It is worthy, and rather good as well!

Almost everyone will have seen the film this play is based on, or at very least know the story inside out. Yet, as with any show, seeing it on the stage is a unique experience and, as its own scheduled for a limited 12-week run, you better see it while you can.