Calendar Girls is the real-life story of a group of mature women from a Yorkshire WI deciding to pose “tastefully-nude” for a calendar to raise funds for a new settee for Skipton Hospital, where the husband of one of them (Annie) had been treated for cancer before losing his battle with it.
Lyn Paul as Jessie, Laurie Brett as Annie, Helen Pearson as Celia and Honeysuckle Weeks as Cora in Calendar Girls The Musical | Photo © Jack Merriman
It started life as a well-loved film in 2003, then was adapted as a play, and has now become a stage musical with songs by Gary Barlow, showing this week at Bath’s Theatre Royal.
So far, so good, and the central conceit of a female Full Monty, complete with the requisite uplifting ending, has evident appeal.
But sadly the show is saddled with an uninspiring sitcom-standard script by Barlow and Tim Firth, with lame jokes and broad-brushstroke characterisation stretching out the thin plot to 2½ hours.
The songs too are surprisingly unmemorable, and follow a predictable formula of each character getting their ballad to sing about their separate issues – songs about plastic surgery or vodka addiction, anyone?
This is not in any way to take away from the production itself. Gary McCann’s design of the meeting hall is striking and surprisingly roomy, with a beautiful backdrop of the bucolic Yorkshire countryside glimpsed through the windows. And the performances are generally strong, restricted though they are by the laboured libretto.
Samantha Seager as Chris (who comes up with the idea of the calendar) is a particular asset with a strong stage presence and a powerhouse belt voice, while Lyn Paul as the matriarchal Jessie is a class act with a beautiful delivery of her song.
On press night, the lead character of the widowed Annie was played by understudy Victoria Hay, who has a highly versatile voice and empathetic delivery, though she was clearly a little young for the role. And musical director Jordan Alexander leads an excellent band in the pit.
This show is very much “what it says on the tin”, no more. And in the interest of fairness, many audience members on press night loved it, with some standing to applaud. We’re all different.
If you like your theatre safe, undemanding and formulaic, then this may be the show for you.
Calendar Girls The Musical is showing at Theatre Royal Bath until 9th March. Box office: 01225 448844.
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
