CityLife Rating
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls
The Lowry
February 9, 2010
THE idea of stripping off for a calendar may now be old hat, but a story of true friendship and achievement never dates.
Couple this with a celebrity cast delivering a script which has you laughing one minute and crying the next and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a runaway success.
There is no questioning that the stage show of Calendar Girls is a out and out crowd pleaser. It has sold out the Lowry’s cavenous Lyric Theatre twice already. Now after a stint in the West End it is back in Salford again for a two week run.
It tells the now famous true story of a group of WI women, who rally round a friend following the premature death of her husband to leukemia, and propose swapping their usual annual calendar of views of local churches for one of them doing their usual WI activities, like making jam and cakes, with a rather unusual twist. They set out to raise £500 for a new sofa for the relatives room of the hospital and have since raised more than £2m.
Poignant
In 2003 the story was made into a film with Julie Walters and Helen Mirren, but the beauty of the stage show is that you don’t sit there thinking who is playing who. These characters take on a life of their own and the immediacy of theatre in many ways gives it a more poignant and powerful edge. The challenge of creating a naked photoshoot live on stage is also much more fun.
Lynda Bellingham, who received a Best Actress nomination at the MEN theatre awards for the part last time around, is as warm and wonderful as ever in the role of Chris.
However, she is the only original member from the show, which is now on its fifth cast change since it opening in 2008.
The stars are undoubtedly as much a draw as the story. This time we have Hannah Waterman (EastEnders and current fitness DVD favourite) playing shy and prudish Ruth, her new slight frame giving her a childlike fragility in the role; Oldham born Judith Barker (Waterloo Road) brings a dry wit to the gamely retired school teacher, Jessie; Letitia Dean (EastEnders) has great stage presence and strong voice as organist Cora; Bury’s Gemma Atkinson’s (Hollyoaks) physical comedy shines as Celia, while Jan Harvey is elegant as widowed Annie.
Yes, some of the actresses, particularly Atkinson, seem young for the parts. Yes, it manipulates the emotions from start to finish. But no-one seems to mind because ultimately it lifts the spirits and leaves you smiling.
Calendar Girls is at The Lowry until February 20, 2010.
Reviewed: Wed, 10 February, 2010
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