18/06/2026
🌟 OUR FIRST REVIEW IS IN! 🌟
We are absolutely delighted to share some of the wonderful feedback from Opening Night of Calendar Girls the Musical 💛
CALENDAR GIRLS – THE MUSICAL - ENCORE THEATRE COMPANY JUNE 17TH – 20TH, PONTEFRACT TOWN HALL
Oh my goodness what a show! From the opening scene to the wonderful finale this show is full of outstanding performances from the whole cast. Eleanor Aldous, playing Annie Clark, around whom the story is based, really brought the character to life, portraying her fears, worries and joy and moving the audience to tears on so many occasions. Clare Heins, as Chris – Annie’s long time friend, support and collaborator - was the perfect partner as together these two women held each other up in the tough times and laughed together in happy times. The well known story of how Annie dealt with the heartbreaking loss of her dear husband John has been brought to life with the script by Tim Firth and the music of Gary Barlow which swept us all along. The idea that the local Women’s Institute could produce a n**e calendar to raise money for a new sofa for the hospital who looked after John was a complete horror story to the chairwoman of the local branch (Amy-Lewise Spurgeon-Hill) but the girls took their case to the London WI conference and won the WI over. The “Calendar Girls” themselves: Cora (Sarah Clarkson), Ruth (Alex Bush), Celia (Bev Maher) and Jessie (Pam Robinson) were all totally convincing in their roles – each telling her own story and bringing humour and pathos to enhance the narrative. Toby Hall played Lawrence, the ever-embarrassed photographer – conveying his wish to do the girls proud whilst not actually looking at them whilst they were posing. The “husbands” were all thunderstruck, all except Chris’s husband who wouldn’t have expected less. Annie’s John (Paul Forsberg) convinced us that he was dying, while Annie did not want to believe it, her anguish and his stoicism shone through in those scenes. Mention must be made too of the three younger cast members, Danny (Bobby Cook), Tommo (Joe Tankard) and Jenny (Imogen Maher) – upcoming talent for future productions. The whole supporting cast didn’t put a foot wrong or sing a note out of tune all evening, the band – hidden though they were – kept the music flowing and the clever stage set enabled the cast to move seamlessly between scenes both indoor and outdoor. The finale was really well “covered” – as were the Calendar Girls themselves (mostly!) and the standing ovation at the end was proof that this band of ladies, this marvellous cast, completely won our hearts with this production. This show is without a doubt the best one I have seen Encore Theatre Company perform. Thank you to everyone involved, both on stage and behind the scenes for all your hard work to bring this story to life in such a stunning way. Well done, Encore Theatre Company.
Anne-Marie Gatford
Thank you Anne-Marie for your wonderful review 🌻
Don't miss your chance to see the show audiences are already calling one of Encore's best productions.
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