Calendar Girls

The Alexandra Theatre

Birmingham

3rd - 7th October 2023

Act I - 64 minutes

Interval - 20 minutes

Act II - 58 minutes

Bill Kenwright presents Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s ‘Calendar Girls, The Musical.’ The production is written by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, and Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle.

According to Cancer Research U.K. ‘1 in 2 UK people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.’ This is a shocking statistic! And with this in mind I viewed the production with a tear in my eye even before it commenced.

If you know the motion picture Calendar Girls written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, then you’ll love the musical adaptation of the Calendar Girls based on and inspired by the death of Angela Baker's husband John Richard Baker.

The performance was led by a strong cast and a cast with an array of talent which includes Tanya Franks (Annie), Maureen Nolan (Ruth), Lyn Paul (Jessie), Amy Robbins (Chris), Paula Tappenden (Marie), Marti Webb (Celia) and Honeysuckle Weeks (Cora).

Theatregoers are advised that this production contains some language that may offend, haze, flashing lights and scenes of semi-nudity.

The performance is based on a group of Yorkshire W.I. ladies and one particular lady, Chris who has the inspirational and exciting idea to create a nude or semi-nude calendar to replace the existing mundane calendar thoughts! The notion being to raise funds for a more comfortable sofa in the ward of the hospital. What a fitting tribute to remember her best friends husband, John (Colin R Campbell).

The whole production is centred around the village hall and is filled to the brim with hilarious one liners and in the next moment tinged with great sadness. You really feel the passion and enthusiasm delivered by the cast throughout and accompanied by a live orchestra add to the ambiance with a score of songs that has that definitive Gary Barlow trace written through them.

I did feel it was a little slow to start, however as the performance gained momentum all became clear as the plot unraveled before your eyes. Sequences of dramatic lighting and sound effects highlighted and reinforced key themes of the performance.

Sadly, the auditorium was not filled to capacity which was disappointing to see but hopefully this will improve as the week goes on.

A truly inspiring story of friendship, resilience and what can be achieved with sheer determination! I highly recommend this production for both the storyline, humour, quality of talent on show and for the sensitivity exhibited. And so, I personally rate it a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5; to be honest, if I could, it would be more like a six!

Thank you once again to The Alex for hosting yet another memorable show.

For further information and support please visit www.cancerresearchuk.org