There’s an air of excitement around Leeds Grand Theatre and
the reason involves the Women’s Institute, well-placed sunflowers and
well-meaning nudity. Its impressive 19th century surroundings will
be hosting the world premiere of Tim Firth and Gary Barlow’s musical The Girls on the 14th of
November, followed by a four week run before heading over to The Lowry in
Salford. Based on the famous film and play Calendar
Girls that drew inspiration from a true story, this is set to offer a
heart-warming and laugh-out-loud evening out… and we can’t wait to attend!
For those who don’t know the story behind Calendar Girls and now The Girls, it began in 1998 in Cracoe
village in the Yorkshire Dales, when a group of 11 women aged between 45 and 65
undressed for a calendar to raise money for leukaemia and lymphoma research. Tricia
Stewart suggested the idea to Rylstone Women’s Institute following her friend’s
husband’s treatment of and subsequent death from non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the
same year, and the calendar was made with the help of local artist Terry Logan.
The aim was to raise £5,000, dedicate the calendar to the friend’s
husband John Baker and interest was expected to pass after three weeks. However,
it gained media hype and became a huge success; selling 88,000 copies in the UK
that year and 240,000 copies in America the year after… and was even presented
to the Queen at Buckingham Palace! To date, the calendar’s success has raised nearly £4 million and has inspired a book, play, film and now a
musical too.
Olivier Award winner Tim Firth is behind both the screen
and stage play, and has worked alongside long-standing friend Gary Barlow to compose
an array of songs including ‘Yes, I’ve
Had a little Work Done’, ‘Sunflower,
What Age Expects’ and ‘Yorkshire’ for
the musical. Having won six Ivor Novello Awards and written 14 number one singles,
we can’t wait to hear what we’re sure will be Gary’s latest toe-tapping hits, all
of which will be performed by a multi award-winning cast.
Actresses playing starring roles will include soprano singer
Claire Moore, who is known for having played the leading role in Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, winner
of two Olivier Awards Joanna Riding and Harriet Thorpe, who alongside being nominated
for the 2012 Theatregoers’ Choice Awards, is also an ambassador for ‘Walk the
Walk’ breast cancer charity. While actors will include one half of sixties folk
duo Chad & Jeremy and grandson of
the 7th Duke of Wellington, Jeremy Clyde, alongside newcomers
including Josh Benson and Ben Hunter.
We've been eagerly following the flurry of press around the
musical and counting down the days until launch night. Covering village life,
the events that led to the calendar and the effects it had on not only those
involved but also their surroundings families, we think The Girls will provide an emotional, entertaining and ultimately
inspiring evening out during a visit to Leeds. With tickets available for between
£10 and £45, and the venue only a ten minute stroll from our hotel, we can’t
wait to experience this new adaptation of such a wonderful story. We recommend booking
as soon as possible if you’re planning on attending as tickets are selling out
fast… and if you’d like to combine your visit with a four-stay at our boutique hotel, we have an array of offers and packages ideal for winter breaks here.
