Theatre
Calendar Girls
Manoel Theatre

For those who are cognisant of the workings of the local theatrical scene, it was more a question of “when” than “if” Calendar Girls would be hitting the local boards.

Both director and cast are to be commended for their solid and sincere approach to this courageous production

Based on a true story of a group of Yorkshire women who under the auspices of the Women’s Institute in April 1999 produced a nude calendar to raise money for cancer research, the work boasts a rich commercial pedigree.

This comedy first saw the light as a successful film released in September 2003. Helmed by Nigel Cole and starring Helen Mirren, Julie Walters and Penelope Wilton, it was made for some $10 million (€8 million) and grossed over $97 million (€70 million).

The film’s co-writer Tim Firth adapted it for the stage, and following its September 2008 premiere at the Chichester Festival, besides its successful year’s run in the West End, it played over 100 sell-out weeks in the provinces.

Besides bagging a bevy of awards, this calendar earned its right to hang with pride in the banks’ boardroom when this September it became the most successful touring play ever in the UK, grossing more at the box office than the original film.

Again this September (it seems to be the production’s favourite month), amateur rights became available and the MADC, in collaboration with Hospice Malta, must have been one of the earliest overseas clubs to jump the queue and present the play as the Manoel Theatre’s opener in its current drama season.

The first part starts with the six members of the Women’s Institute, Annie (Nicola Schembri), Chris (Polly March), Jessie (Sue Scantlebury), Cora (Isabelle Warrington) and Ruth (Marta Vella) front of stage doing boring aerobics.

When Marie (Ninette Micallef), the prim head of the institute, is introduced along with the toffish Lady Cravenshire (Marylu Coppini), followed by the laid-back John (Paul Portelli), Anne’s husband who is soon to die of cancer, the scene is set for a typical English comedy peopled by quirky characters, sporting some funny one-liners and laced with moments of sensitivity.

Of course, most of the audience’s interest rested on the shooting of the nude scenes for the calendar, which rightly provided the highlight of this production.

And this is where Nanette Brimmer’s clever direction was at its best, not only by ensuring that these were handled in good taste by both cast and crew, but also by creating varying hilarious postures, aided by strategically-placed muffins, knitting yarns, coffee cups and flowers, which fitted each individual’s anatomy like an unworn glove.

After the interval we followed the aftermath of the calendar’s publication, which received a clamourous reception by the public with letters of support literally dropping from the sky and inundating the stage. However, all this unexpected success, which gave the group a kind of celebrity status, unfortunately turned into a breeding ground of discontent, disrupting the former camaraderie shared earlier among the baring bunch.

It struck me at this stage that these arising dilemmas seemed a wee bit two-dimensional and smacked of soap-operatic fare. Unlike the comedy fare which had seemed spontaneous and character-driven, the tensions apparent during these moments of sensitivity seemed contrived and were quickly resolved through hasty reconciliations.

The lacuna lies in the writing and is certainly not the fault of the cast, which also included Chris Hudson, Alan Paris, Francesca Briffa, Annemin Rutgers and Michael Mangion. In fact both director and cast are to be commended for their solid and sincere approach to this courageous theatrical production.

They certainly had the full support of the audience, who responded vociferously to this simple story of simple folk fronting convention for a cause they believed in.

Calendar Girls is also being staged on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.