Review: Calendar Girls The Musical is a cheeky and heartfelt roller coaster 

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Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com. 

It’s the Yorkshire tale we all know and love: the remarkable story of a group of ladies in a small Women’s Institute in the Dales, who, after the death of one member’s husband, and wanting to raise money for the hospital that cared for him, did what no WI had ever done before. They produced a nude calendar. Twenty-five years on, the women have raised an incredible £6 million for Blood Cancer UK.

The story was shared with the world in 2003 with the release of a major film, Calendar Girls, featuring Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and a slew of other big names. It was followed by a stage adaptation in 2008 with the same writer, Tim Firth, at its helm.

The newer musical production, now on tour across the country, is a fresh take entirely and a collaboration between Firth and long-term friend, Take That’s Gary Barlow. I was lucky enough to experience the result of this perfect partnership at Leeds Grand Theatre last night.

The two writers’ skills combine to create something totally magnificent. Barlow’s lyrics and melodies elevate the piece to a whole new level: it is as if it was always intended to have a soundtrack. And, to deliver the magic to the stage: an all-star cast of music, television and theatre talent, including Maureen Nolan of the Nolan Sisters and Lyn Paul from the New Seekers.

Eastenders’ Tanya Franks plays the newly widowed Annie beautifully; her rendition of Kilimanjaro, in which she mourns the everyday struggles of grief, is truly heart-breaking. Amy Robbins, of Coronation Street fame, is extraordinarily entertaining as Annie’s best friend, Chris.

Tanya Franks as Annie. Pic: Alex Harvey-Brown

And it really doesn’t end there: every single cast member performs with such life and understanding, their lyrics delivered with meaning and purpose. Each character has her moment, with her own challenge to overcome, from the process of ageing and worries over children, to cheating spouses and turning to the bottle.

I cried with laughter and with sadness; the whole production filled me with an unbridled joy that reminded me why I love theatre. Poignancy, comedy, bittersweet beauty, wrapped up so effortlessly like a present: it’s a rare thing, and a full standing ovation was the proof of the pudding.

As if that wasn’t enough of a roller coaster of emotions for one evening, the revelation that members of the famous WI branch were among the audience was the icing on the proverbial cake.

If you do anything this week, go and see the Calendar Girls doing their thing on stage, plum jam, bare bums, iced buns and all.

The final performance is on Saturday night.

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Review: Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap celebrates 70 years

Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

The West End met West Yorkshire last night as Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, the world’s longest-running play, hit the stage at Leeds Grand Theatre. The show’s 70th anniversary tour is taking the production to more than 70 venues countrywide, meaning us northerners finally have the opportunity to don our detective hats and guess whodunnit.

It is the early 1950s, and newly married couple Mollie and Giles Ralston have just opened a guesthouse in the countryside outside London. As the pair prepare for the arrival of their first visitors, a newsreader on the wireless reports on a brutal murder in the capital. None the wiser, the Ralstons rally, as one by one, their eagerly anticipated guests arrive at Monkswell Manor.

But, as a snowstorm cuts them off from the outside world, the suspicion and intrigue mounts: could the killer be among them? The scene is set for one of Christie’s classic closed-circle mysteries.

The tour’s staging is a no-expense-spared affair: the set is masterful, with its intimate, wood-panelled drawing room; a fire roars in the hearth, as, outside the window, snow falls thickly; scattered trinkets and nick-nacks on side tables place us firmly in the past, as does costume. In the ornate surrounds of Leeds Grand Theatre, where chairs gently squeak under the weight of their occupants and a chandelier glitters overhead, the play feels quite at home.

Yet, the set’s cosiness is challenged by a mounting sense of isolation and unease, thanks to the play’s eight-strong and triumphant cast. Each member so impeccably drawn in the first instance by Christie’s imagination, the actors make their characters their own, with a clear understanding of their unique roles: each distinct and each crucial to the successful telling of the tale.

I understand now more than ever this iconic play’s longevity: a quintessentially British whodunnit, devised by the Queen of Crime, whose flawless recipe for murder mysteries, which made her the best-selling novelist of all time, is just as perfect a concoction on stage as in the pages of her novels. With its tight structure, ingenious clues and final outrageous twist, The Mousetrap is a must-see. Beyond that, my lips are sealed.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap is on at the  Leeds Grand Theatre until September 2.  

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