When I said I was attending a performance of Calendar Girls, there were comments around the dinner table. Suffice it to say, the comments were not about the storyline, but about the anticipated 'nudity' among the cast.

That would have been a very sad reason to attend what was a very well written and performed play that mixed happiness with sadness.

Towards the start, John, the husband of one of the members of the Knapely WI, received the results of a blood test and soon afterwards he was dead. Not the sort of scene setter that would have one expecting a story that would seriously entertain with a mixture of mirth, hilarity, unhappy conflict and finally the generation of having experienced a serious 'feel-good' story.

A story which unfolded started with a plan to raise enough cash to buy a 'comfort sofa' for hospital visitors where John had been treated. The scheme involved the production of a calendar featuring members of the Knapely WI discretely nude, in conventional WI settings and activities such as jam making - the performance on stage was one of the biggest laughs due to the expressions and performances of the cast members. The end result was the raising of enough money to fund the building of a wing of the hospital bearing John's name...

At times poignant, all members of the cast were incredibly believable and gave the audience no chance to deviate from the intended effect. This is despite a cast laden with recognisably big names, such as; Lynda Bellingham, Jennifer Ellison, Ruth Madoc, Trudie Goodwin, Bernie Nolan, Lisa Riley, Diana Moran, Joe McGann - the list goes on!

I admit the evening was a mixture of laughter and silence - the silences being times I hoped I wasn't the only person choked up and 'removing bits that had gotten into my eye.'

Ah, the word I was looking for is, "powerful." Indeed, it was a very powerful story performed powerfully, and hosted in a theatre that emphasised the performance rather than the theatre itself.

There is nothing I can say beyond the fact that it was an incredibly entertaining play that I am seriously glad I attended.

Oh, and at the final curtain bow, a sign came down informing that the WI Calendar Girls have raised £3m to date. A nice final message to end the night on...

Phil O'Hara

29/03/2011