Diana Walsh reviews Calendar Girls at the Barn Theatre in Welwyn Garden City.
If you have already booked your ticket to see Calendar Girls at the Barn Theatre, you are in for a treat.
If you haven’t, book it soon because you will miss something very special!
Most of us of a certain age will remember the true story of the WI women of Knapley in Yorkshire, brought to the big screen in 2003 with a star cast and adapted for stage in 2009 by Tim Firth. It was later adapted, again, by Gary Barlow who staged the musical in 2015.
For the Barn stage, Hannah Sayer has directed her talented actors brilliantly to produce such a powerful play that leaves you laughing and crying at the same time!
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When Annie’s (Suzie Major) husband John (Rob Graham) dies of cancer her close friend Chris (Barbara Holgate-Stuckey) comes up with the idea to create a nude calendar, as “sex sells”, to raise money to replace the uncomfortable sofa that Annie always complained about, in the family room at the hospital.
There is such humour seeing the women at their regular meetings lectured by the very officious Marie (Celia Roberts) and hearing that the next talk arranged will be on the fascinating subject of broccoli, following on the successful one on tea-towels!
The central and most spectacular scene in the play, which is superbly performed, is when the extremely nervous Lawrence (Roly Taylor) is recruited to be the photographer of each of the women posing nude behind trays of iced buns, tea pots, sunflowers, cake, and all things associated with WI ladies.
It is so beautifully done with the women overcoming their fear of posing and of Laurence overcoming his fear of working with a room full of nude women.
It is a joy to watch and such a terrific ensemble piece that I feel it would be unfair to single out any individual performances from Sayer’s uniformly talented cast.
The play powerfully presents the themes of friendship, family, love, loss and community, as well as the sunflower theme that came from John’s words of how the sunflowers are the most glorious in the later stage of life - just like women.
Production and set design deserve praise for the village hall set, which could cope with a number of actors on stage at the same time, a piano, and even a game of badminton played in it!
When Chris and Annie go to London to ask permission from the WI Council to create an “alternative WI Calendar”, it is cleverly portrayed on stage with lighting and sound effects.
And a studio is created, where the girls go to be filmed for a washing powder advertisement.
The final scene is visually beautiful and tearfully uplifting. I take my hat off to them!
Calendar Girls runs till Saturday, May 13, with evening performances at 8pm, and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
Tickets cost £14 from the Barn Theatre box office on 01707 324300 or online at www.barntheatre.co.uk
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