About This Show

Feb. 6-8 & 13-15 @7pm and 9 & 16 @2pm at Andria Theatre

Calendar Girls - Wide

Show Sponsor


Winter Show

When Annie’s husband, John, dies of leukemia, she and her long-standing best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. With varying levels of encouragement, they persuade four friends and fellow members of the Women’s Institute (W.I.) to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar. They are assisted by hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence, who looked after John in his final days. This is much to the horror of their local W.I. chairman, Marie. Their efforts catch the attention of the national and international press, who soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. Although the calendar is a huge success, Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test with their new-found fame.

This hilarious play is based on the true story of eleven W.I. members who famously posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukemia Research Fund in 1999.

Auditions

Audition form submissions are open starting Monday, November 4, 2024. Please check back then.

Auditions in December, date TBD

CHRIS – 50s. She will talk to people she doesn’t know and generate laughter. Part of this is because Chris is at home in crowds and being the center of attention. Without Chris in her life, Annie would be better behaved, her life less fun.

ANNIE – 50s. Annie will join in mischief but is at heart more conformist and less confrontational than Chris. The mischievousness Chris elicits saves Annie from being a saint.

CORA – around 40. Cora’s past is the most eclectic, her horizons broadened by having gone to college. She is the joker in the pack, but never plays the fool.

JESSIE – late 60s/70s. Get on the right side of Jessie as a teacher and she’ll be the teacher you remember for life. Get on the wrong side and you will regret every waking hour. A lover of life, her elixir of life is bravery. Her husband has been with her a long time and is rarely surprised by her actions.

CELIA – age 35-50. A woman more at home in a department store than a church hall, she may be slightly younger than Chris or the same age, but she always feels like she’s drifted in from another world. She is particularly enamoured of Jessie.

RUTH – 40s. Ruth’s journey is from the false self-confidence of the emotionally abused to the genuine self-confidence of the woman happy in her own skin. Ruth is eager to please but not a rag doll.

MARIE – 50s. Marie has gradually built the current ‘Marie’ around herself over the years as a defense mechanism. There is a lingering part of Marie that would love to be on that calendar.

JOHN – Annie’s husband, 50s. John is a human sunflower. Not a saint. Not a hero. Just the kind of man you’d want in your car when crossing America. When he dies it feels like someone somewhere turned a light off.

ROD – Chris’s husband, 50s. You have to be a certain kind of guy to stick with Chris and Rod loves it. He can give back what he gets and has always made Chris laugh.

LAWRENCE – late 20s. Hesitant without being nerdy, Lawrence is a shy young man with enough wit to make a joke. When he arranges the shots he is close to female nudity but sees only the photo.

LADY CRAVENSHIRE – 60s. Lady Cravenshire really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But the WI girls seem from another world. When she makes an entrance, she must make an entrance.

ELAINE – 20s. Elaine really doesn’t mean to be so patronizing. But Jessie seems from another world. The world of her gran.

LIAM – late 20s. Liam would like to be directing other things than these photoshoots. We can sense a slight weariness at having to deal with these women. For Liam, this photoshoot is a job. And not the job he wanted.

If you are cast in a production that will involve students under the age of 18, and you are 18 years of age or older, you will be required to complete a background check. This will be at no cost to you.

Performances

Feb. 6-8 & 13-15 @7pm and 9 & 16 @2pm at Andria Theatre

Tickets are not yet available to purchase until Thursday, August 1, 2024. Please check back then.

Dates & Times

  • Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Friday, February 7, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 2:00 pm - Add Time
  • Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Friday, February 14, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 7:00 pm - Add Time
  • Sunday, February 16, 2025 at 2:00 pm - Add Time

Cast & Crew