Calendar Girls, The Musical

Even Bigger Buns

Calendar Girls, The Musical

by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow

Bill Kenwright at the New Wimbledon Theatre, until 4^th November, then on tour until 6^th April 2024

Review by Michelle Hood

Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls began life in 2003 as a heart-warming comedy film based on the true story of a group of middle-aged women who, now famously, produced a hugely successful nude calendar in 1999 to help raise money for Leukaemia Research.  The film, with a stellar cast including Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Annette Crosbie and Celia Imrie, became a global phenomenon and went on to spawn a stage adaptation, also by Tim Firth.  The stage version was successfully launched at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 2008, and the play subsequently transferred to the West End, during which time “the girls” were played by the likes of Lynda Bellingham, Anita Dobson, Lesley Joseph, Patricia Hodge and Sian Phillips.

Following the success of the film, and the further success of the stage play, came the third reincarnation – this time, Calendar Girls, The Musical, which Tim Firth developed with songwriter Gary Barlow in 2015.  This latest 2023 touring version, produced by the late Bill Kenwright and directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, has been updated by the writers with a revised script and includes some additional songs.

The story, which now must be familiar to all, fluctuates between humour and sadness as it explores themes of friendship, female empowerment and sheer resilience.  Being by now such a predictable and well-known story, hopefully the injection of music would prove to be a possible game-changer by creating new dimensions and perspectives.  And indeed, that proved to be the case, as the introduction of music, without doubt, improved the narrative and emphasised the emotions by adding an edginess into this wholesome tale of middle-England do-gooders and their consequential deliverance of success out of adversity.  The lyrics are clever and witty, and much credit must go to Gary Barlow and Tim Firth for raising the bar toward the levels of Tim Minchin and Lin-Manual Miranda. 

The actors also seemed to relish the opportunity of belting out the occasional song to nudge the ageing plot along.  However, the songs also helped the actors to flesh out their parts and to give some depth to what can often be played as one-dimensional and stereotypical characters.  For example, Marti Webb, as Celia, enthusiastically belted out a very witty comic song reminiscing about her work in the airlines, while Maureen Nolan as Ruth, sang a wonderfully sad love song to her Russian friend, Vodka.  And another expressive song, this time delivered by Lyn Paul (an ex-New Seeker), playing Jessie, singing a beautiful and haunting homage to the pains of growing old. 

The key relationship, between Annie (the wife of the husband who dies from cancer, thus providing the catalyst for the story) and her best friend Chris, is played with a genuine warmth by the duo, which makes their 40 year friendship especially believable.  Annie, played by Tanya Franks, has a number of very emotional songs with one lyric in particular, sang following the death of her husband, “who will protect me by telling lies”, especially poignant.  Meanwhile Chris, played energetically by Amy Robbins, maintains a huge stage presence throughout and one of her lines, delivered while holding a bunch of tulips in front of her, of “Hello, boys”,” brought the house down. 

The men meanwhile are, perhaps, rather peripheral figures in this female celebration, but Colin Campbell, as Annie’s cancer-stricken husband John, gave a sensitive and amusing performance with his exotic dreams of Tibet while Graham MacDuff’s photographer displayed a mixture of encouragement and exasperation while ensuring his lens kept all the cellulite in shadow.  In fact, the photography scenes were good fun – a rich mix of British reserve, coyness and good humour – but this time no sunflowers to help preserve any remaining modesty.

Jonathan O’Boyle’s direction was brisk and fast-paced and, while the music lifted the story to new levels, many familiar landmarks remained such as “we’re going to need considerably bigger buns” and “no front bottoms.” The set, by Gary McCann, captured the essence of a village hall with its high wooden beams and embraced the WI world of teapots, tea towels, scones and Battenburg cakes. 

On reflection, I doubt I could go back and enjoy the non-musical stage version of Calendar Girls – the injection of musical numbers provided fresh impetus and lifted the feel-good nature of the plot thereby giving the story a new lease of life.  It’s a celebration of the positives of human nature and, more to the point, is based on a true story, from humble beginnings in a local Women’s Institute, to raising millions of pounds for Blood Cancer UK.  Calendar Girls, The Musical is an enjoyable production and was enthusiastically received by an admiring audience.

Michelle Hood, November 2023

Photography courtesy of Bill Kenwright Ltd