Photos: First Look at CALENDAR GIRLS THE MUSICAL UK Tour

Production photos from the new production of Calendar Girls the Musical have been released. Written by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, the cast includes recent stars from Coronation Street and EastEnders (Amy Robbins and Tanya Franks), three recording stars whose hit records have approached nearly 70 million in sales (Lyn Paul with The New Seekers, Maureen Nolan with The Nolans and musical theatre star Marti Webb), the co-star of one of TV’s most popular series of the last twenty years (Honeysuckle Weeks of Foyles War), and Paula Tappenden star of Blood Brothers.  

Five of the announced leading ladies have also starred as Mrs Johnstone in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers during its record-breaking West End run and across the UK on tour.

Tanya Franks, Maureen Nolan, Lyn Paul, Amy Robbins, Paula Tappenden, Marti Webb, and Honeysuckle Weeks will bare all as the group of ordinary women in a small Yorkshire town who set about creating a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

This brand new production sees this incredible true story continue to bloom, with a reimagined book and new music bringing the joy to life.  

Tim Firth, co-writer of the show, says:

‘Pre-pandemic I had been preparing the musical for a foreign production which was of course then postponed. When the skies cleared and a new production in the UK was proposed I looked back and thought, ‘This is the version we ought to stage’. 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, says:

‘I am delighted to be working on this new production of Calendar Girls and getting ready for the joy, the laughter, and the nostalgia to take the stage again. It’s been 20 years this year since the film was released, and around 10 years since I first saw Tim’s play with my mum Marjorie. 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’.

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