Nothing fills my heart more than some good ol’ Yorkshire
pride. One thing that makes me proud of where I live is the talent of
performers – comedians, musicians, actors etc.
As a West Yorkshire lass, I had the privilege of seeing ‘The
Girls’ Musical as it makes its world premiere at Leeds Grand Theatre on the 23rd
of November – a fantastic, new stage musical written by Tim Firth, an Olivier
award-winning playwright and the talented, northern lad Gary Barlow. Well I
think it’s fair to say in Gary’s own words that ‘The Girls’ was ‘ABSOLUTELY
FANTASTIC’.
For those who don’t know, the show is based on a true story
of the Knapely’s Women’s Institute and the tale of Annie whose husband John had
been diagnosed with terminal cancer. John died and the whole town was at a
loss, but thanks to Annie’s best friend Chris and the other members of the WI,
they produced a nude, sorry, ‘alternative’ calendar to buy a new settee in the
hospital John was treated at. There is also a ‘Calendar Girls’ play and a film
starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.
I’m a big fan of musicals, but ones I’m less familiar with
always make me wonder whether I’ll enjoy it or not, as I am one of those people
who loves to know the plot and songs so I can hum along. Another thing I love
to do is go home and think about which character I’d like to play and why (in
this, I’d like to be Celia – the feisty, glamorous ex-air hostess with a rather
LARGE secret).
The show starts with a big group number called ‘Yorkshire’ which
set the scene very well but was a lot to follow, especially after an afternoon
of sampling Leeds’s finest pubs. With opening numbers, they can either really
kick off the show, or leave you feeling a bit lacklustre – I think this opening
number is a bit of both. However, once you get into the dialogue, it’s laughter
all the way! The comedic timing of these
actors, and the dialogue was incredible – as a patriot, I loved hearing a musical
with a local slant to it instead of the usual Mary Poppins-esque, la-dee-dah style of voice we’re used to in West End theatre.
Many tears were shed as the characters faced the real issues
behind the singing and joking – cancer. A really touching scene happens halfway
through the second act where Chris pleads with the Women’s Institute Conference
judges to help beat this ‘vile’ thing we know as cancer. It was a really
touching moment as we watched two best friends standing side-by-side taking a
stand for this cause, and the reality was really brought home. These women on stage weren’t all young, leggy dancers you see on the stages of musicals like ‘Dirty Dancing’ and ‘Cats’; these were
talented, ‘real’ women who look like you and I. That made it even more
realistic, and even more special and I think a new audience favourite.
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| Excuse the blotchy face, I'd just had a bit of a cry |
A few nip slips, accidental or not, were seen in the final
scenes as we saw the WI calendar being created, but that added to the fun of
the show. Well done to the cast who braved to bare, particularly on a cold
November night felt from even inside the theatre for most of the evening (but
maybe that was just me).
Real standout performances were, of course, from the two
leading ladies, Claire Moore that played Chris, alongside her extensive
plethora of theatre credits gave Helen Mirren a run for her money, and Annie,
the caring widow, played by Joanna Riding who delivered a beautiful performance
of the song ‘Kilimanjaro' which sings of the struggles faced when you lose
someone; comparing climbing a mountain to getting that first bus to town
next to an empty seat that was once full. Gary Barlow’s lyrics must really be
praised for this amazing, down to earth music. The entire cast worked so well;
you really felt like you were looking into the life of a real close community.
The songs were great and the singing was to an immaculate
standard, although my one main criticism would be that there were too many
intros which sounded like the cast were going to burst into song, when really
they were just speaking a few lines to a tune before walking off.
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| Outside the street was filled with Sunflowers |
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