Calendar Girls Play Well Worth Seeing
Theatre Review
By MARCUS BOWER
Courage, friendship and camaraderie were there for all to see when Calendar Girls opened at The Earl Arts Centre on Wednesday night. Directed by the experienced and respected Stan Gottschalk for Three River Theatre, the play was a warm and generous reworking of Tim Firth's script.
Adapted from an award-winning film in 2003, Calendar Girls follows the fortunes of a well-meaning group of Yorkshire women who took their kit off in order to raise money for a new sofa in a cancer ward. The women raised more than a few eyebrows, for not only did they become a global phenomenon but they raised millions in revenue.
Fame and exposed flesh to one side, Firth's script speaks more about the human condition and Gottschalk's ensemble does not let him down in this regard. Putting a few wayward accents to one side, the cast worked the material particularly well and we, as an audience, ultimately cared for them as people. Kerri Gay had the presence and flair to carry off the gregarious Chris with consummate ease, while Ann Campo did a lovely turn as the vivacious Celia. Valerie Tinmouth was truly delightful as Jessie and many in the cast could follow her lead when it came to a clean and sustained Yorkshire accent. Bec Reedman, Amanda Dawes and Bec Geoghegan were strong and secure in their roles, while the rest of the ensemble had their moments on stage.
Rebecca Phillips, a backstage stalwart of 3RT, maintained the momentum of this extremely busy and prop-driven play, while Flocky Bock must be congratulated for creating the set magic - again.
Stan Gottschalk's cast and crew have created an engaging, enjoyable and life-affirming production that should be seen. It continues at The Earl Arts Centre until Saturday, September 7.
Contact
You can send a message to us at: stan@stanspage.com
Welman Street Film Society
List of Films
|
Title |
Director |
Country |
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1. The Last Picture Show |
Peter Bogdanovich |
USA |
|
2. In the Heat of the Night |
Norman Jewison |
USA |
|
3. Padre Padrone |
Taviani Bros. |
Italy |
|
4.Lawrence of Arabia |
David Lean |
UK/USA |
|
5. La Strada |
Federico Fellini |
Italy |
|
6. La Regle Du Jeu |
Jean Renoir |
France |
|
7. Amarcord |
Federico Fellini |
Italy |
|
8. Psycho |
Alfred Hitchcock |
USA |
|
9. The Passenger |
Michelangelo Antonioni |
Italy |
|
10. The Seven Samurai |
Akira Kurosawa |
Japan |
|
11. My Man Godfrey |
Gregory LaCava |
USA |
|
12. Room at the Top |
Jack Clayton |
UK |
|
13. Blazing Saddles |
Mel Brooks |
USA |
|
14. Wings of Desire |
Wim Wenders |
Germany/France |
|
15. Nashville |
Robert Altman |
USA |
|
16. Double Indemnity |
Billy Wilder |
USA |
|
17. The Conformist |
Bernardo Bertolucci |
Italy |
|
18. King of Hearts |
Philippe de Broca |
France |
|
19.M. Hulot’s Holiday |
Jacques Tati |
France |
|
20. Grande Illusion |
Jean Renoir |
France |
|
21.All About Eve |
Joseph Mankiewicz |
USA |
|
22.Paths of Glory |
Stanley Kubrick |
USA |
|
23.Rashomon |
Akira Kurosawa |
Japan |
|
24.The Trial |
Orson Welles |
France |
|
25.Network |
Sidney Lumet |
USA |
|
|
|
|
|
First Welman St Film Festival |
Director Theme - France |
|
|
26. Le Corbeau |
Henri-Georges Clouzot |
France |
|
27. Wages of Fear |
Henri-Georges Clouzot |
France |
|
28. Les Diaboliques |
Henri-Georges Clouzot |
France |
|
|
|
|
|
29. Eye of the Needle |
Richard Marquand |
UK |
|
30.Breathless |
Jean Luc Goddard |
France |
|
31.The Bedford Incident |
James B. Harris |
USA |
|
32.Tabu |
Miguel Gomes |
Portugal |
|
33. Through a Glass Darkly |
Ingmar Bergman |
Sweden |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Welman St Film Festival |
National Theme - Italy |
|
|
34. Journey in Italy |
Roberto Rosselini |
Italy |
|
35. Il Divo |
Paolo Sorrentino |
Italy |
|
36. Marriage Italian Style |
Vittorio de Sica |
Italy |
|
|
|
|
|
37. North By Northwest |
Alfred Hitchcock |
USA |
|
|
|
|
|
Third Welman St Film Festival |
Genre Theme- International Heist/Caper Films of the 1950s |
|
|
38. The Killing |
Stanley Kubrick |
USA |
|
39. The Lavender Hill Mob |
Charles Crichton |
UK |
|
40. Rififi |
Jules Dassin |
France |
|
41. Big Deal on Madonna Street |
Mario Monicelli |
Italy |
|
|
|
|
|
42. Death in Venice |
Luchino Visconti |
Italy |
|
43. Don't Look Now |
Nicholas Roeg |
UK/Italy |
|
44. The Roundup |
Miklos Janczo |
Hungary |
|
45. Bringing Up Baby |
Howard Hawks |
USA |
|
46. Tender Mercies |
Bruce Beresford |
USA |
|
47. Lilies of the Field |
Ralph Nelson |
USA |
|
48. A Man Escaped |
Robert Bresson |
France |
|
49. Shane |
George Stevens |
USA |
|
50. The Angels' Share |
Ken Loach |
UK |
|
51. A Touch of Evil |
Orson Welles |
USA |
|
52. Ivan's Childhood |
Andrei Tarkovsky |
Russia |
|
53. Room |
Lenny Abrahamson |
Canada |
|
54. Tokyo Story |
Yasujirō Ozu |
Japan |
|
55. Witness for the Prosecution |
Billy Wilder |
USA |
|
56. Andrei Rublev |
Andrei Tarkovsky |
Russia |
|
57. Broken Circle Breakdown |
Felix Van Groeningen |
Belgium |
|
58. Locke |
Steven Knight |
UK |
|
59. Silent Wedding |
Horatiu Malaele |
Romania |
|
60. Annie Hall |
Woody Allen |
USA |
|
61. Anatomy of a Murder |
Otto Preminger |
USA |
|
62. The Olive Tree |
Iciar Bollain |
Spain |
|
63. Places in the Heart |
Robert Benton |
USA |
|
64. Walkabout |
Nicolas Roeg | Australia |
|
65. The Hustler |
Robert Rossen | USA |
|
66. Elektra |
Michael Cacoyannis | Greece |
|
67. Gaslight |
George Cukor | USA |
|
68. The Power of the Dog |
Jane Campion | New Zealand |
|
69. Sunset Boulevard |
Billy Wilder | USA |
|
70. Burn |
Gillo Pontecorvo | Italy |
|
71. Dean Spanley |
Toa Fraser | UK/NZ |
|
72. In a Lonely Place |
Nicholas Ray | USA |
|
73. Sweet Smell of Success |
Alexander Mackendrick | USA |
|
74. Cinema Paradiso |
Giuseppe Tornatore | Italy |