The saying ‘the girls have done us proud‘ is appropriate and befitting of The Girls musical. It is set on the 2003 film production The Calendar Girls where a group of women exceeded their own expectations and became media sensations after posing nude to help raise funding for a local hospital. Suffice to say that they also raised the audience‘s decibels of laughter with some light hearted innuendos whilst flirting with nudity.
There was a slight delay in the musical starting purely due to the excitement and anticipation building up in the audience, such that several spectators mingled whilst standing up in the aisles of the theatre. The artistic and sunshine landscape created on the stage provides a great distraction as spectators awaited the opening scenes of the play. If you ever thought that a ‘courgette‘ was just a reference to the vegetable, you will hear the term in a different light as tongue in cheek dialogues unfold through some dry and slapstick humour. There are 12 treats on show as the camera man clicks away with each calendar girl that takes centre stage. Indeed, the use of essential objects at the right time spares any of the cast potential embarrassment at being exposed quite literally.
Unlike many other theatre productions where the audience head for the exits as soon as the curtains come down on the play; on this occasion there was plenty of post-show complimentary freebies. As the cast gave their customary bows at the end, it was a signal for the producers David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers to enter the stage. They gave warm words of praise for the cast and audience, and then welcomed the children of the late John Baker and thereafter the real calendar girls. Longstanding unity was also prevalent when childhood friends turned writers Tim Firth and Gary Barlow made their appearances that resulted in increasing decibels of approval by all those present. Gary Barlow reminded the public why he remains one of the UK‘s best songwriters as he sang Dare. The organisers went one step further to create a memorable evening as the audience were treated to a delicious supper of fish and chips washed down with generous amounts of prosecco.
In summary, The Girls is more than just a musical. It is the epitome of audience bonding and compassion for the efforts of the cause to raise money for Leukaemia. Indeed, it was then announced that the musical will run until 15 July 2017, and unsurprisingly this was met with a rapture of vociferous applause by the audience. This therefore provides a plethora of opportunities for evening entertainment courtesy of The Girls.