CALENDAR GIRLS THE MUSICAL Will Be Performed In-the-Round at Stephen Joseph Theatre

The Stephen Joseph Theatre's first summer production for 2026, Calendar Girls the Musical, is in rehearsal and will open at the end of the month.

Actors Karen Holmes and Christina Meehan, Angela Caesar, Pippa Duffy, Sarah Groarke, Rachel Hammond, Matt Heslop, Matt Ian Kelly, Annie Kirkman, Alicia McKenzie, Neil Moors and Fenella Norman are hard at work in the rehearsal room on the first ever in-the-round production of the show.

The much-loved show about a group of Yorkshire women who create a fabulous fundraising calendar after the death of one of their husbands is by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth. It's directed by the SJT's Artistic Director, Paul Robinson.

The show is a co-production with Keswick's Theatre by the Lake, the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich and the Octagon Theatre Bolton and will play at those theatres after opening in Scarborough on 27 June.

The death of a beloved husband prompts a group of ordinary women in a small Yorkshire Women's Institute to do something extraordinary: create a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

News spreads fast in their community and none of them expect the emotional and personal repercussions, but gradually the making of the calendar brings each woman unexpectedly into bloom.

The true story of the Calendar Girls launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record-breaking movie, a West End play and this awarding-winning musical.

Paul Robinson says: “"Our new in-the-round staging of Calendar Girls the Musical brings the audience into the heart of the Rylstone Women's Institute, making this true story of friendship and determination feel more personal and immediate. This intimate production will create a unique, shared experience, reminiscent of gathering around a community hall or a close friend's living room, allowing for a deeper connection to the characters and creating a collective, communal atmosphere that fully immerses everyone in the moving story of these ‘ordinary women' doing something quite extraordinary."

Tim Firth and Gary Barlow say: “As writers one of the most exciting things that can happen is when someone comes up with a totally new way of staging something you've created. When Paul described his vision for a new production of Calendar Girls the Musical it was instantly clear he was talking about something we'd never seen before, never imagined and to be honest never thought possible.”

Tim Firth adds: “Scarborough I always feel to be my home as a writer. Not only was it the first place to give me a main stage but the plays of Alan Ayckbourn embody so much of what I love about theatre. It was en route to a meeting with him about a new play that I called into a Wharfedale fete and bought a calendar from a WI stall. Now years later, it seems wonderfully fitting to be starting a production of a musical about that story at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.” 

Calendar Girls the Musical is by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth and was originally produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and The Shubert Organisation. It's based on the play
Calendar Girls, written by Tim Firth, and on the motion picture of the same name written by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi.

Calendar Girls the Musical is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd.

This co-production is directed by Paul Robinson. Set and costume design is by Helen Coyston, and the Musical Director and Associate Director is Alex Weatherhill. The Choreographer and Intimacy Director is Stephanie Dattani, the Lighting Designer is Jane Lalljee, and the Sound Designer is Simon Slater. Casting is by Annelie Powell CDG CSA.

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