There’s such an inviting charm each time I visit The Mill at Sonning. Nestled next to the river just outside Reading. The Mill offers a different Theatre experience as each ticket includes the price of a two-course meal beforehand in their restaurant.
CALENDAR GIRLS set in 1998/99 is the real-life story of the WI who pose naked and create a calendar to sell to raise money to buy a sofa for the cancer unit at their local hospital. Annie’s (Natalie Ogle) husband John (Andrew Ryan) loses his battle with cancer. After months of sitting on the battered stain-ridden sofa at the hospital, Annie decides she wants to raise funds to replace it. In honour of John’s memory.
Anyone who has attended a WI meeting or been a guest speaker will recognise the characters portrayed by the cast. From Marie (Elizabeth Elvin) in charge of the group who is a stickler to the rules to Jessie (Sarah Whitlock) the retired teacher who still has a sense of humour and a rebellious streak is something to aspire to.
Oscar Cleaver makes his debut Theatre performance as Lawrence and Liam in the story. Lawrence is the photographer of the calendar and Liam is the unscrupulous soap powder photographer who tries to exploit the ladies. Two very different characters who were both believable.
The production offers plenty of hope and laughter while raising awareness of Leukaemia. CALENDAR GIRLS was one of the first mainstream films to talk about cancer and the effects it has on everyday life and all those surrounding the person affected. These WI ladies never set out to be famous or to rock the foundations of the “stuffy” WI hierarchy they just wanted to raise some money and make a difference for their friends’ plight.
Director Sally Hughes captures the charm of the real-life events that took place creating the calendar. The scene where the ladies go up the hill to one of John’s favourite places to see his sunflowers in bloom was very moving. There are moments throughout the play which caught me off guard and I could feel myself “welling up”. My advice is to take some tissues just in case.
It’s nice to see that a groundbreaking story of its time is still making it onto the Stage and keeping the memories alive of the WI ladies who defied the odds and made a nude calendar which made a huge difference to the cancer unit and bringing other people together whose lives have also been devastated by the loss of their loved ones.
For more information on Calendar Girls and future productions coming to The Mill in Sonning please check out the link below.
Four Stars.
Photographer Andreas Lambis.
CALENDAR GIRLS
by Tim Firth
Directed by Sally Hughes
The Mill at Sonning
11 April – 1 June
Cast:
Debbie Arnold (Cora)
Basienka Blake (Celia)
Oscar Cleaver (Lawrence/Liam)
Elizabeth Elvin (Marie)
Rachel Fielding (Chris)
Kitty Harris (Elaine)
Ciara Janson (Ruth)
Natalie Ogle (Annie)
Dawn Perllman (Brenda Hulse/Lady Cravenshire)
Steven Pinder (Rod)
Andrew Ryan (John)
Sarah Whitlock (Jessie)
Creative Team:
Director: Sally Hughes
Set Designer: Terry Parsons
Costume Designer: Natalie Titchener
Lighting Designer: Matthew Biss
Sound Design: Technical Team at The Mill at Sonning
Casting: Kate Plantin CDG
Theatre, Films and Art reviews 