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Review by John Burland:
FIRST it was a film, then it became a stage play and in 2017 the story of those intrepid ladies from the Rylstone Women’s Institute was turned into a musical.
At that time, it was entitled “The Girls” but subsequently reverted to the original title of the film and play of “Calendar Girls”. After an initial read through at Burnsall Village Hall in 2017 the production itself opened at The Grand Theatre in Leeds for a month before transferring to the West End to the Phoenix Theatre.
After a nine-month tour of the country by professional actors, the production has been released for amateur performers and is this week at the fabulously refurbished Yeadon Town Hall being performed by BrassNeck Theatre Group. I believe I have said in the past that BrassNeck is one of the best amateur groups in the area and their performance of this production does nothing to change my mind on this score. It is sensational from start to finish.
The musical, like the film and stage play, was inspired by the true story of how the above ladies in 1999 decided to appear nude for a Women’s Institute Calendar in order to raise funds for their local hospital in memory of John Baker, the husband of one of them.
This musical comedy shows life in their Yorkshire village, how it happened, the effect on the husbands, sons, and daughters, how a group of ladies achieved something extraordinary and ultimately how they became a global phenomenon. Whilst it has this poignant story of John’s death and the effect this had on his friends in the village at the core of the musical, it is hilarious from start to finish, and Tim Firth’s writing is superb throughout. And what can I say about Gary Barlow’s music? Toe-tapping good, some fabulous poignant ballads and some rip-roaring numbers combine to show just what a talented songwriter the Take That frontman is.
There were many outstanding performances in this production. Firstly, by Laura Judge and Marie Collins in the roles of Chris and Annie, the parts played by Helen Mirren and Julie Walters in the original film. Laura’s rendition of Sunflower was heart wrenching as was Marie’s performance in Kilimanjaro. I was also impressed by the performance of Caroline Bayfield as Cora whose song Who Wants a Silent Night was one of the more humorous in the show. Ann Garnett who has been connected with local theatre for over 50 years, starting originally with Horsforth Grove AOS one of the societies that morphed into BrassNeck twelve years ago, played the role of Jessie, the retired schoolteacher. Her rendition of What Age Expects was one of the highlights of the show in my opinion.
Other excellent performances came from Jill Whitehouse as Cecelia, Rachel Sowerby as Ruth and Helen Clarke as Marie, the leader of the Knapely Women’s Institute. The male actors of Dave Lee as John, Andrew Walton as Road, Stuart Hutchinson as Lawrence the photographer, Steve Conlon as Colin and Andrew Chewins as Denis all played their parts well. Humour was well to the fore by the youngsters in the production – Harry Hodge as Danny, Charli Carr as Jenni and Richard Mace as Tommo. Finally, I must mention that doyen of local theatre Christine Castle who was once again treading the boards in her roles of Brenda Hulse and Lady Cravenshire. The chorus numbers are outstanding from the toe-tapping Yorkshire at the start of the show to Sunflower of Yorkshire at the end and including Spring Fete and Time Passing towards the end of Act 1.
