Jam-packed for classic WI show
The story of the real life calendar girls is now the stuff of legend, everyone knows about it. The 2003 film starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters is also legendary.
Based on the true story of 11 Yorkshire women who posed nude for the annual WI calendar in 1998, there has been a play about it, a musical and now we have the ‘reimagined’ Calendar Girls The Musical.
Is it possible to get too much of a good thing? People love it though, and the Theatre Royal was packed for opening night, everyone loves a good laugh and gentle comedy.
Written by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow, this new show has some golden musical moments with the ensemble cast including Lyn Paul (The New Seekers) and Maureen Nolan (The Nolan Sisters).
Set in the small Yorkshire village of Knapely, where the real-life drama took place, the stage looks wonderful in this Bill Kenwright production directed by Jonathan O’boyle.
At the beginning the curtain opens to reveal the inside of a charming village hall with large windows overlooking the rolling Yorkshire hills and dales.
It is almost too idyllic and is nothing like any cold village hall I have ever
been to, but it is a lovely looking set and aesthetically sets the scene for the story of these gutsy women to unfold.
The fact they are in the WI is important in this story, an organisation more famous for its plum jam and Victoria sponge than women stripping off and being themselves.
From the start this group of women do not look or sound like any I have ever encountered at the WI.
They are feisty, funny, trendy, modern and it gives the story a whole new look, modern costumes help this along. Do not expect nudity.
The nude scenes are performed with
unexplained modesty and you feel like a Bath audience could in fact cope with a bare buttock or breast, after all we have seen it all before.
For this story to work we need the women to strip off. It makes it all seem lame, some of the nude scenes work and there is a certain amount of slapstick comedy about breasts behind two current buns, but I feel they could have been a bit more daring.
After all, isn’t this what this story is about? Bravery, resilience and not giving a damn about what anyone thinks.
The collaboration of Firth and
Barlow, who are from the same area despite some years apart, works and some of the musical hits reach some great choral moments.
The first half goes on too long and we don’t really engage with the women or the men at this stage. The second half is much better. The cast members on opening night really settled into their roles in the second half and there was a lot more chemistry and emotion on stage.
The audience loved it, many of them giving a standing ovation at the end.
All cast members work incredibly hard in what are challenging musical and acting roles. Some of the solo musical hits are a highlight, particularly Lyn Paul as the ageing Jessie who belts out one of the best songs in the show to tumultuous applause from the audience.
This is a story about growing old, and the script features some great one liners about female ageing. It can be a funny topic and it is in this.
Victoria Hay as Annie, whose husband died of cancer sparking the whole calendar idea, is one of the best in the cast. She is a no nonsense northern lass and the audience in Bath loved her.
There is a very northern feel to this story and this is one of the best things about the writing, like The Full Monty you just cannot imagine it happening anywhere else.
Some of the songs are better and more memorable than others, there is a lot of repetition in the musical score.
Maureen Nolan of The Nolan Sisters is well used to treading the boards and she brings a nice touch to this show, her voice is as strong as ever.
It is a strong performance by this ensemble cast, the female actors work well together and you feel the chemistry will just get better and better as the tour continues.
Calendar Girls The Musical continues at the Theatre Royal, Bath until Saturday (March 9).