Writer: Tim Firth

Director: Psyche Scott

Reviewer: John Roberts

The Public Reviews Rating:

Occasionally a production will come along and will capture the hearts of a nation, and it seems that Calendar Girls is one such play. Based on the touching true story of Angela Baker and her fellow members of their local Woman’s Institute,  these ladies captured the hearts of the World and Media when they created the 1st alternative nude WI calendar in memory of her late husband John who died from Leukaemia. They have since, through various calendars and other merchandise raised over £2 million for Leukaemia Research.

I have personally been trying to see this production since it launched over two years ago at the Chichester Festival Theatre, but due to several circumstances have meant that I have been unable to, until now and I am glad I did. For this is a production that has bags of energy, laughter and of course a sprinkling of sentimentality which have been carefully balanced by Tim Firth’s light, humorous and at times poignant script, which could be a disaster if it had been placed in another person’s hand.

There have been several criticism’s of late about the ‘celebrity’ castings of this production, and I have to admit to being one of the sceptics of certain castings and I would be lying if I said every single member of this cast are at the top of their game because unfortunately they are not, but one can be sure that as a company these girls gel perfectly well and their relationships with each other on stage provides a warm joviality that is often missing in group pieces like this.

Letitia Dean(Cora) and Hannah Waterman (Ruth) provide the evenings biggest surprises with well turned out performances and often bringing the theatre to rapturous laughter, Dean is feisty and fresh as the single parent and church organist and Waterman brings to the forefront a very different persona to that which we have become accustomed to on screen. Her portrayal of shy and put upon Ruth is a delight to watch and seeing this shrinking violet bloom through the piece is a pure joy to uphold. Colin Tarrant as John is almost unrecognisable from his menacing role as Inspector Monroe in The Bill, here he gives a very touching and realistic portrayal of a man battling a disease and you cannot help but be moved by his final scene in the show.

It is without a doubt though that the true stars of the production are the stage and screen old hands, who know how to hold an audience captivated from the off. Judith Barker is riveting as the oldest but alert Jessie and gives a masterly performance in the art of comic timing. Jan Harvey gives a wonderful turn as newly widowed Annie, bringing a depth to her performance that is nothing short of breathtaking and last but not least Lynda Bellingham as Chris, brings a much needed jubilation and energy to the role, one she is clearly still loving, even after playing the role on and off for over two years.

The production is helped by a simple but effect set by Robert Jones, who with moving very little set can put you in a church hall to the top of a sunflower filled hill in a matter of seconds, but credit must be given to Psyche Stott’s wonderful direction – The letter scene being a particular favourite of mine. Yes there are several issues that hinder the production, at times the cast could do with being louder especially in the huge auditorium of the Lyric Theatre, and certain cast members delivery tended to be a little flat and robotic but these are tiny niggles in what otherwise is a great production.

Stott has managed to balance the production well meaning the show never strays too far down the ‘woe is me’ sentimentality route, instead the production stays firmly in the realms of a celebration of life and a fitting tribute to John Barker and the work the real Calendar Girls are doing on a day to day basis.

Runs until 20th Feb

Calendar Girls - Lowry Theatre, Salford, 4.0 out of 5 based on 3 ratings

Tags: Calendar Girls, Colin Tarrant, Hannah Waterman, Jan Harvey, Judith Barker, Letitia Dean, Linda Bellingham, Lowry, Salford, Tim Firth