Set a date for Hamilton Playbox’s Calendar Girls
Stage adaptaion of classic bare-all story
Agroup of Hamilton and Waikato women can show you a few things about how to use sunflowers and teapots. Getting your kit off for charity has been tried by many groups over the years, from veterinary students to buffed-up firefighters, and provides the central theme for Calendar Girls — Hamilton Playbox theatre’s stage adaptation of Tim Firth’s 2003 movie.
Set in Yorkshire and based on a true story, Calendar Girls has proved to be a collegial and confidenceboosting experience for its cast, according to director Jane Barnett.
Calendar Girls follows a group of middle-aged Women’s Institute members who decide to disrobe as subjects for a charity calendar to raise money to provide furniture for the hospital. The storyline follows the lead character Annie (Nicole Domett) whose husband dies of cancer. She and best friend Chris (Lucinda Heslinwightman) decided to raise money for a new sofa in the hospital waiting room, Barnett explains.
“They persuade their friends and their sister institute members to pose nude for an ‘alternative’ calendar.
Their creative efforts in the buff attract the attention of the local and then the national media. The calendar turns out to be a great success but places stress on the relationship between Annie and Chris and questions their real motives.
“It’s a bit risque. They don’t actually strip. But the photos are tantalising with naughty bits screened by strategically placed props.”
Barnett says the 14 cast spots — 10 women and four men — were oversubscribed.
“We had women coming from all around. The result is a great group of actors in a wide age range including some new faces. To do the show the women had to feel comfortable working together as a team. We are also blessed with a very experienced production team covering lighting, props, wardrobe and sound.”
Lead Nicole Domett plays Annie. Nicole most recently appeared in Roger Hall’s Social Climbers.
“It’s about comradeship and trust, which is what the Women’s Institute is supposed to be about. The nude bits were challenging. It was out of some people’s comfort zone. There’s lots of humour but we had to be really supportive of each other.”
Fellow lead Kerry Lucas-candy came over from Waitoa to play Jessie. Her most recent production was Murder on the Orient Express staged by Morrinsville Theatre.
For Barnett, Calendar Girls begins her 45th year in Hamilton Theatre. While the Covid pandemic was disruptive of Riverlea’s schedule, Barnett’s most recent previous
productions have been Oklahoma with Hamilton Musical Theatre in 2017, and The Vicar of Dibley — The Second Coming in 2018. She was for 15 years the director of Riverlea Theatre’s Stagecraft performance school, and is also a member of the Cantando Choir, which will mark Anzac Day at 5pm, April 29, at St Paul’s Collegiate Chapel.