Broken Legs Blog

Based on the real life story of a Yorkshire WI group’s idea to raise money for a local hospital, East Bridgford and Bingham Drama Group’s latest production, “Calendar Girls”, is a perfect mix of comic and heartfelt moments that make for an uplifting evening of entertainment. Under the direction of Caroline Aldrich, this play succinctly blends hilarity with more serious undertones, as the WI ladies decide to try a new tactic with their yearly calendar in order to raise more funds for charity. The idea does not meet approval from the WI chair – cue lots of sneaking around and silly subterfuge as the characters behave like naughty schoolgirls, the calendar giving them a new lease of life away from talks on the history of broccoli.

The play opens with a whistle-stop tour of a year in the life of the WI, introducing us to the loveable characters, whilst also telling the more serious story of Annie (Naomi Cope) and her husband John (Mark Aldrich), who has leukaemia and slowly declines over the first few scenes. We drop in on the WI during their big events of the year (planning for Harvest Festival, the Christmas gala and the Easter parade), and despite John’s illness being ever-present, this is by no means a morbid opening. There is plenty to laugh at here – the ladies attempts at crafts and bakery immediately help us to root for these mischievous characters, and it is thanks to this that John’s death is all the more poignant. It is testament to Cope and Aldrich’s acting that we feel so strongly about these characters after such a short time, which makes the death scene, which is not gratuitous in any sense (Aldrich simply vacates the stage, leaving behind an empty wheelchair, whilst the characters all gather round to reminisce) incredibly moving. It feels real and raw without being overly depressing. This is a comedy after all.

Dismayed by the state of the relatives’ room at the local hospital, Annie teams up with best mate Chris (Karen Peckover) to raise money for a new sofa, coming up with the idea of producing a nude calendar. The other WI ladies are shocked at the suggestion – and their reactions are suitably hilarious, none more so than Jackie Valentine’s Jessie, whose facial expressions throughout are priceless. Some of the ladies are immediately up for it, including Rebecca Cresswell’s Celia, who proudly announces that she once rode topless on the back of a Harley Davidson, whilst others, such as Sally Baldock’s Ruth, are a little unsure. It takes a motivational speech from Chris (in which she insists that “nude” is not the same as “naked”) and a little Dutch courage to convince the ladies to go ahead, and what follows is a cleverly choreographed scene in which each of the ladies take their turn to become flavour of the month.

Employed as their photographer is Daniel Andrews’ Lawrence, who is mortified to realise that Jessie is his ex-teacher. The scene is filled with not-so-subtle innuendo (there’s a discussion over whether Celia’s buns should stand proud or be a little flatter), but it is never overdone, and each line is delivered with a cheeky smile that makes the characters ever more endearing. The nudity in the play is handled tastefully, thanks to an extraordinary array of props (courtesy of Rowena Dawson and Jane Cooper), and hats off (among other things) to the brave performers who follow in the WI’s footsteps of baring all for charity (the play is raising money for Leukaemia Research).

The second half of the play deals with the fallout of the calendar shoot. Head of the WI Marie (a formidable Marjory Soar) does not approve of the sudden attention the other ladies are receiving, and her attempts to suck up to Lady Cravenshire (Brenda Youngs) continually end in disaster. Single mother Cora (Astrid Moules) hopes to use her newfound fame to track down her daughter’s father, whilst Baldock’s Ruth uses it to reassess her relationship with a husband, which culminates in a fantastic scene between her and spa worker Elaine (Jane Cooper) which is greeted by rapturous applause from the audience.

Julz Dawson’s set design recreates a community hall where the WI meetings take place, with kitchen counters and a grand piano offering space for the ladies to hide behind during the photoshoot. The final scene sees the ladies visit a sunflower garden, planted in John’s memory, and whilst a few additional props would not have gone amiss, the dialogue combined with subtle changes in Jez Brooking’s lighting make the scene change clear.

Overall, this is a brilliant night of theatre performed by a range of talented actors who bring to life characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. It’s clear the cast are having a ball with this play, and that makes it even more enjoyable for the audience. Fun and cheeky, yet with a serious side as well, this is a play that I would thoroughly recommend.

Tom Morley, November 2025