Honeysuckle Weeks in 'Calendar Girls, the Musical'

The year 2023 turns out to be a very busy one for Honeysuckle Weeks. After appearing in Noël Coward’s 'Blithe Spirit' during the month of May, rehearsals have now started of 'Calendar Girls, the Musical' in which she will play Cora.

The musical is based on the play Calendar Girls (2008) written by Tim Firth, and the motion picture Calendar Girls (2003) written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi.

Inspired by a true story, it follows a group of middle-aged women in a small Yorkshire Women’s Institute that are prompted to do an extraordinary thing  and set about creating a nude calendar to raise money for Leukaemia Research. The ladies turn preconceptions upside down, but are they prepared for the emotional and personal ramifications they will face as they each come into bloom?

Calendar Girls The Musical will begin performances at Theatre Royal Windsor on 30 August 2023 and will then travel to Sheffield, Cheltenham, Birmingham, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Wimbledon New Theatre, Leeds, Stoke on Trent, Darlington, and Hull (See below for the provisional tour schedule).

Tanya Franks (Eastenders) stars as Annie Clarke, the witty compassionate sidekick, and who’s husband’s illness is the catalyst in this story; Maureen Nolan (The Nolans) will star as the big-hearted Ruth; Lyn Paul (The New Seekers) returns to the stage as Jessie, the frank and fearless school teacher; Amy Robbins (Coronation Street) stars as Chris Harper, the excitable, irrepressible leader of the gang, Paula Tappenden (Blood Brothers) steps into the role of intrepid Women’s Institute leader Marie, Marti Webb (Tell Me on a Sunday) will play Celia, the glamourous and sassy former airhostess, and Honeysuckle Weeks will play Cora, the rebellious musician.

Tim Firth, co-writer of the show, said: “The story and songs, a little like the real world, had been thrown in the air and come back slightly different. What we had in our hands lay somewhere between the original play and the original musical and it seemed right for a time when sunlight, optimism and humour seemed more necessary than ever. Like the calendar itself, it seemed that something dark had created something unexpectedly bright.”

Gary Barlow, co-writer of the show, said: “We’ve already had a fantastic time in the rehearsal room workshopping the show and weaving in new music, reworked songs and reimagining the book. We cannot wait to see the way these incredible leading ladies bring the story to bloom as we head out on tour later this year”.

With unforgettable songs, every performance continues to add to the nearly £6 million already raised for charity and prove that there is no such thing as an ordinary woman. This tour is proud to be supporting Blood Cancer UK, the charity dedicated to funding research into all blood cancers, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, as well as offering information and support to blood cancer patients.

Tour Dates

Reviews
'This is a sure fire hit with those already conversant with the story through the film and is likely to win new admirers who have not yet had the pleasure of seeing it,' writes one reviewer. Source.

'Calendar Girls is still,' concludes another reviewer here, 'heart-warming, emotive and lots of fun as it progresses, and the second act alone deserved the standing ovation received from the Birmingham audience at the end. All credit goes to each of them – especially Honeysuckle Weeks who left almost nothing to the imagination.'

Louise Cannon writes: 'It is of course a triumph, but the audience is really taken through the emotions of trying to do something on a grand scale and the reasons people give, especially from Cora, played by Honeysuckle Weeks.'

And in an interview Honeysuckle Weeks herself said: “Now I want to do the sort of work that means I can take myself seriously as an actress. Obviously not as a person; that would be ridiculous – because life is ridiculous.”