Amateurs take on Calendar Girls (From Salisbury Journal)

Amateurs take on Calendar Girls

12:26pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in Entertainments

CALENDAR Girls has become the fastest selling play in British theatre history and a Salisbury company is one of the first amateur groups to stage the play.

The production at the Studio Theatre in Ashley Road, is opening next Wednesday and has a cast of 14, comprising familiar Studio stalwarts and a few new faces.

Described as “utterly captivating”

with “the mingling of pathos and comedy” being “simply unbeatable”, Calendar Girls is directed by Jill Redston, with assistance from Camilla Burgess.

Director of productions, Jackie Pilkington (Miss January), said: “I have just put in a request to our premises manager to start heating the theatre.

“The challenge of tasteful disrobing and the choreographing of buns, balls of knitting and pots of marmalade to cover exposed flesh brings with it the problem of the aforementioned flesh beginning to shiver and quiver on these cold autumn nights.

“In addition, there are a dozen fast costume changes for each girl and the dressing room resembles a frantic nudist camp with the costume team getting smothered by items of clothing being hurled hurriedly into the air. It’s hard work – but it’s a hoot.”

The play is based on the real life tale of a group of WI members who posed nude for an ‘alternative’ calendar to raise money for a new sofa for a local hospital waiting room, after one of their husbands died of leukaemia.

Calendar Girls runs from October 3 to 13 with the exception of October 7 and 8. October 5, 6 and 13 are already sold out.

Tickets are available from the Salisbury Information Centre in Fish Row. Call 01722 334956.