Calendar Girls

The real story of Calendar Girls is one of a community uniting in an attempt to make something positive out of a tragedy. In 1998 a group of WI women in Yorkshire planned a fund raising operation in aid of Leukaemia Research after the husband of one member was diagnosed with the disease and subsequently died. The resulting saucy, humorous, nude calendar featuring the WI women far outsold the initial print run and became a worldwide media story. The fictional story of Calendar Girls began life as a film based on fact in 2003. With a cast including Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, it did very well at the box office and won a number of awards. Tim Firth, who wrote the screenplay, went on to write a stage version which premiered at The Chichester Festival Theatre and transferred to the West End in 2008. Productions of the play continue to tour nationally and worldwide. I saw the play in the West End a few years ago when a friend of mine, a Lewes-based actor who plays Kenton Archer in the Archers, played Rod alongside Kelly Brook, Hannah Waterman and Arabella Weir. I remembered it as a mildly entertaining and cleverly commercial show.

So at Lewes Little Theatre I was happy to find that there is much more to the play than I found that night in London. The play benefited from being in an intimate space which is, as befits the location of the play, part of a local community. The committed cast and a caring director gave the piece authenticity and did justice to what is an extremely well crafted, funny play with pathos and warmth at its heart. Before the LLT show I overheard director Sandra Tomlinson saying that the first thing she had done with her cast was to take them to a real WI meeting and how much they had enjoyed it. Her wish to make the world of the play real and not just something out of a cosy sitcom paid off.

A perfectly executed set by Adrian Bowd with an excellent almost photographic
screen drop painting of England’s green and pleasant land visible through the window of the village hall set up the world of middle England. I enjoyed all the performances a lot. The feeling of camaraderie which is crucial to this play was apparent, and the cast worked with commitment and energy. Being an actress myself, I could well imagine the fun they must have had together especially, of course, negotiating the naked element! In fact, the saucy, nude aspect that the play is perhaps best known for lasts for a very short time and is all over by the interval. It is in the second half that the real emotional meat unfolds when we learn more about the women’s backstories, motivations and stresses.

In an ensemble piece it is always hard, and perhaps unfair, to pick out particular actors. However, David Morley as John was excellent and perfectly cast as the central character whose death gives rise to the fund raising plan. Charlotte Tayler completely inhabited her part of Ruth, who as the wife of a man playing away, has lost all her confidence. The excellent Jenny Lloyd Lyons played Annie, John’s widow, with poise and truth. But once again I must say I enjoyed all the performances and thought that Sandra Tomlinson cast well and directed with detail and care.

The fictional life of the Calendar Girls goes on with many, professional and amateur, productions performed worldwide. The fundraising life of Calendar Girls continues too. In October the Royal Albert Hall hosted a celebration of 13 years of the Yorkshire ladies fundraising journey with has so far raised over £3 million for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Real life widow Angela sums up the extraordinary story of the Calendar Girls, “I think that we’ve all coped really well with what has happened. We’ve done the most amazing things but we’ve kept our feet on the ground and we’ve never forgotten why we did what we did. We didn’t do the calendar because we wanted to be famous but because we wanted to raise money in John’s memory. It has been the most marvellous experience.”

I really enjoyed seeing this play the second time around and can only imagine that for the cast and crew the execution of this production has also been ‘the most marvellous experience’. Judging by the comments of the audience members I heard they’d certainly had a great evening.

Lucie fitchett

Nearly everyone, in some way, must have been touched by the subject of this play based on the real life story of the brave WI Ladies who decided to pose in a very unlikely WI way for their fund raising calendar. I also guess that many of us have seen the film and possibly a professional stage production but now it has come out for the amateur stage, this in no way seems to have diminished the interest shown in regard to audience numbers.

In this production, director Sandra Tomlinson certainly caught the quirkiness and poignancy of this extremely British story told to us by the very talented cast. The characterisations were excellent with the insecurities of all the ladies involved from the Knapeley WI coming through which combined well with the fun and the pathos that the making of the calendar produced.

Avril Francis-Bell and Jenny Lloyd Lyons as Chris and Annie were the instigators of the project which arose from the death of Annie’s husband John. We were privileged to go with them through the ups and downs of their friendship and David Morley as Annie’s husband gave a very moving performance.
The rest of the cast, whether calendar girls or not, made their characters come alive and the story was told with great sensitivity.
The action mainly took place in Knapeley Church Hall with a wonderful view through the window to John’s Hill where the sunflowers were planted.
When the action moved to the hill, the scenery was effortlessly moved to reveal this lovely countryside.
This was a movingly thought provoking play with a good balance of humour – I wasn’t able to stay for the adjudication which took place on the night I attended but I’m sure the remarks would have been very positive.

Brenda Gower Regional Representative for the National Operatic and Dramatic Association