Calendar Girls The Musical Review

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Calendar Girls has made a welcome return to The Regent Theatre in Stoke, and the turn out was enough to prove that it’s a welcome addition to their line up this year!

After the success of the 2003 film, Gary Barlow and Tim Firth have brought the story to the stage, and have done superb job of it too.

It’s based on the true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research under the auspices of the Women's Institutes in April 1999.

The group have to grapple with their private doubts and inhibitions, and how it will affect their lives, both personally and professionally, and we are taken along for the ride.

I still haven’t seen the film yet, but I did see this show last time around. I can only describe it as an alternative version of the Full Monty LP, which I absolutely love, both on stage and in film. My wife Kerry came along, and having seen the film and loved it, she said that this show had a real feel good factor about it.

Whilst there has been a lot of change to the set and a few new songs, it was still a slow starter for me, and just as last time, it was just before the interval that it truly engaged me. The back drop of a Yorkshire community hall while both very fitting and visually stunning, was also very samey throughout, with only minor changes taking place to help set different scenes. It could definitely be more dynamic to offer more personality to some of the scenes.

The cast were superb and had buckets of charisma. Maureen Nolan (yes, one of the Nolan sisters) pulled a blinder as the shy and reserved Ruth, and Tanya Franks’ television experience was easy to see in her portrayal of Annie. Her voice was great and she was instantly likeable. Honeysuckle Weeks was perfectly cast as Cora with her down to earth performance really bringing her character to life. She was a laugh a minute!

Amy Robbins was loveable as Chris. She was pretty much the leading lady and had no problem proving why she was there and neither did Marti Webb as Celia. Lyn Paul was fantastic, and ironically as her song goes, you should never do what age expects. She’s certainly doing that along with the rest of the cast.

In amongst all of that were two gentleman adding a bit of male bravado to the proceedings. Colin Campbell was loveable as Jon and his performance was heartwarming. And Graham McDuff played Chris’s long suffering husband Rod, although Rod would tell you that he enjoys the craziness.

Each character has their own individual solo story set within the main, and the story allows us to experience each one in what is actually a short amount of time. Hats off to Gary & Tim for pulling this off, and achieving what other productions have and tried and failed at.

Calendar Girls is a feel good comedy which takes you on a journey through the full spectrum of human emotion. You’ll experience everything from a hearty belly laugh and the hair on the back of your neck standing up, right through to love and empathy, and sadness and grief. It felt like the feel good conclusion is genuinely earned rather than imposed.

Personally, I still prefer the Full Monty, but I would highly recommend this production. It does what it says on the tin, with a touch of sass and class.

Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It's playing at the Regent Theatre NOW, up until and including Saturday 18th November. Tickets are on sale and are available by calling the Regent Theatre Box Office on 0844 871 7649. You can also visit www.atgtickets.com/stoke for tickets and info.