Calendar Girls the Musical – Stephen Joseph Theatre ★★★★★
The true story of a small Yorkshire Women’s Institute became a global sensation and now comes home to Scarborough as an award-winning musical, ‘Calendar Girls The Musical’
Most will be familiar with the real-life story of the Calendar Girls. Drawing on this extraordinary true story with a sprinkling of artistic licence, the musical follows members of a Yorkshire Women’s Institute (the actual Rylstone and District Women’s Institute becomes the fictional Knapley) whose lives are transformed after the death of Annie’s husband John. Wanting to support her best friend in her grief, and frustrated by the lack of comfort of the hospital visitor’s room, Chris persuades her friends to produce an unconventional fundraising WI calendar, where they will pose nude.
Tim Firth’s book offers a wheelbarrow load of heart and humour. Wit and wisdom sit comfortably side by side in his engaging and honest script. There are twin risks with putting the Calendar Girls’ narrative on stage. The inherent pain and loss risk making for a heavy evening at the theatre if not handled with a lightness of touch. Equally, it could become cloyingly sentimental were it not for a dash of salty banter. Firth has an unerring ability to pivot from the mundane of everyday events to those moments of devastating emotional truth, exploring the gamut of life – love, loss, hopes, dreams, ageing and friendship – without ever tipping into mawkishness or emotional manipulation.
Gary Barlow has an undeniable talent for a melodic, untaxing, evocative score. While, lyrically, he occasionally seems to reach for the rhyming dictionary a little too often (“dare”, “stare”, “far”, “are”), when he gets it right, the musical soars. Very Slightly Almost, sung by Annie (an extraordinary Christina Meehan), offers a bittersweet and affecting paean to trying to hold on to hope in the face of increasingly poor medical prognoses. While Who Wants A Silent Night, a comedic reworking of traditional Christmas carols, is in desperate need of some mulled wine, by contrast So I’ve Had a Little Work Done, extolling the virtues of body confidence regardless of how you acquire it, performed with irrepressible gusto by Celia (a sensational, sassy Pippa Duffy), hits the funny bone entirely on target.
Musically, this revival springs its first surprise. There is no orchestra. Nor is there a band. First impressions of a lone upright piano in the corner suggest that musical accompaniment will be minimal. That is until members of the cast begin to arrive on stage with instruments. Trumpets, flutes, saxophones, violins, tubas, an electric guitar, and more are all employed by this phenomenally gifted cast to provide the backing to whoever is singing. This isn’t a typical actor-musician production in which they remain on stage throughout. Instruments and their players appear and disappear with a seamless fluidity through the many entrances and exits of the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
This production boasts the first in-the-round staging of Calendar Girls. This is a paradigmatic example of the STJ’s long-championed 360-degree configuration. No mere theatrical novelty, the seating format lends an intimacy that feels entirely appropriate for this show. By placing the audience in the heart of the Women’s Institute, those watching feel less like spectators and more like honorary members, waiting for the tea urn to boil. The private grief and shared laughter are no longer observed from afar – they happen among us, and we become part of their story.
Director Paul Robinson has mastered the art of in-the-round theatre. Working with little more than a handful of chairs, a bench, a cake trolley, some bunting, and Jane Lalljee‘s effective lighting, Robinson keeps the stage unencumbered by the literal and trusts in the audience’s imagination to fill in the blanks. Expert blocking and pacing ensure that, despite a large cast, the steady flow of traffic through the theatre’s three vomitoria is smooth and attention is always focused where it should be. With Calendar Girls, Robinson makes this look easy, but for those who have experienced many less well-imagined in-the-round presentations, they will appreciate the skill of execution on display here.
Of course, there is no Calendar Girls The Musical without a cast of Calendar Girls. And what a superb company. Karen Holmes, as the fun-loving rebel (mostly without a clue) Chris, brings bags of personality, always pitching it the right side of ‘too much’. Her on-stage partnership with Christina Meehan and their deep-seated friendship is characterised by such warmth and authenticity, you cannot help but love them. Fenella Norman is a class act as retired teacher Jessie (still Mrs Raistrick to all who have been taught by her). She rails exquisitely against any suspicion of prejudice against her age, never more so than in the beautiful ballad What Age Expects:
‘So don’t make the great mistake /
Believing the numbers on your cake /
Cut down the fools who bid you do /
What age expects.’
Pippa Duffy has impeccable comic timing as the silicon-enhanced, former air hostess and now trophy wife Celia. Never a caricature, her portrayal is grounded and nuanced. As well as “the girls”, Neil Moors makes a lasting impact within his limited stage time as John. Kudos too to the young cast, Jack Pickering, Robyn Chambers, and Will Ireland as Tommo, Jenny and Danny who more than hold their own as the children of three WI members.
What Calendar Girls The Musical mines so effectively is that sense is that sense of permanence and predictability we assume in all our lives. The opening song Yorkshire opines:
‘The seasons come and go, and rise and fall /
what will be will always be‘
The sense of continuity is expressed in the smallest of actions:
‘And then late each month /
And always on a Thursday night /
the strangest thing /
the calendars on all the kitchen walls /
have got two tiny letters /
“W” and “I”‘
And then the show explores how people respond when that expected routine is entirely upended. This outstanding production of Calendar Girls The Musical has crafted an irresistible blend of humour, life, and, unfashionable as it is, kindness. The show champions and celebrates courage, community, and how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things. Heroes don’t always wear capes. Sometimes they wear very little indeed.
With Northern grit and plenty of wit, this Yorkshire tale is an uplifting hit ★★★★★ 5 stars
Calendar Girls The Musical Tickets
Calendar Girls the Musical runs at the Stephen Joseph Theatre until 25 July 2026,
at Theatre by the Lake from 6 August to 5 September,
at the New Wolsey Theatre from 10 to 26 September,
and finally at the Octagon Theatre Bolton from 8 to 31 October.
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