It’s 2018 and the #MeToo movement is in full swing, so it feels like the time is right for a musical about female empowerment. Many people will know the original film based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women from the Women’s Institute (WI) who pose naked to raise funds for charity. It’s a story of acceptance and feeling empowered no matter what gender, size or age you are. The Full Monty has been delighting audiences for years, isn’t it time there was a female equivalent?
Given the high profile names and faces behind the new Calendar Girls musical, expectations are sky high. The music is written by Take That frontman Gary Barlow who has collaborates with the writer of the original film Tim Firth to compose a score for this new musical; and a host of famous faces feature in the cast including; TV Presenter Fern Britton and Denise Welch, who is a regular on Loose Women.
In terms of plot the musical doesn't stray far from the film. So fans of the film will not be disappointed. However it's inevitable that comparisons will be made even though they're completely different. The set is very representative of the rural landscape. The backdrop is of a Yorkshire Dale. There's a gate and a wall and a bit of greenery - very typical of a rural village. Set in the Yorkshire Dales, the plot is based on a group of women in a WI group. Sadly one of the group’s members, Annie (Anna-Jane Casey) becomes a widow. Her childhood best friend of 40 years, Chris (Rebecca Storm) suggests they raise money for a new settee for the hospital’s family room. Chris is inspired by a calendar she receives from the Netherlands of women posing nude behind flowers. She suggests the WI group do a nude calendar to raise funds for the settee. It's a story about finding hope in the worst days of your life. When tragedy strikes do you sit back and cry or do you fight?
The women in the WI group are a diverse bunch. We have the mousy Ruth who is superbly played by Sara Rowe. There's Jessie (Ruth Madoc) who doesn't want her age to slow her down. Karen Dunbar plays Cora who's slightly more tomboyish than the rest of the girls. Given that this is a musical one may be expecting high notes and jazzy dance routines. Sadly that is not the case in Calendar Girls. In fact none of the singing was particularly strong in my opinion - Welch practically spoke her way through her solo song. Britton doesn’t sing a note during the whole evening, not even in the ensemble pieces. However, what the ladies lacked in vocal power they made up for in charm and humour.
Between all the calendar madness there a subplot between a group of school children. Jenny (Isabel Caswell) is new to the school and catches the attention of Danny (Danny Howker). This provides some comic relief from some of the more dramatic scenes in the main plot. As the plot reaches its climax we see each girl stripping off and posing for the calendar. This was well done and each girl received a round of applause for it. However for me it signified each character overcoming their own personal struggle and their hard work paying off. Throughout the story we see that each girl has something they need to overcome.
During the curtain call on Press Night there was a nice moment when the original calendar girls were brought on stage. It was nice to hear how their story went on to raise millions for charity.
Reviewer - Brian Madden
on -30/10/18
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