Calendar Girls: a date not to be missed in Longford

“I think everybody knows the story really well, it's been a fantastic movie, based on a true story,” Janice Gibney says of Backstage Theatre Group's Spring production of Calendar Girls.
Tim Firth’s play is based on the true story of eleven women who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the Leukaemia Research Fund.

When Annie’s husband John dies of leukaemia, she and best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room.
They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence.

The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales.
Christine O’Brien is another lead: “I play the character of Chris. She is like the team leader, so she's the one that kind of spurs everyone on to do this calendar. She's what you might call strong-willed. Some things go a little bit wrong, and you just have to wait and see how everything turns out in the end.”

Janice adds: “The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their newfound fame. She's very much affected by the people reaching out. She feels that weight, and her relationship with her best friend Chris, is tested.”
Christine says the story is very engaging: “We have a big group of women, each with their own subplot and their own little story. They're wonderful characters, everyone is different, with their own little story to tell.”

The show is, ultimately, a comedy: “Charlie [McGuinness], our director, said these are people who don't sit around crying. They get on with things, they laugh their way through life, they keep merry and jolly. It's actually a really light-hearted look at something quite serious,” Christine says.
Last year's hugely popular performance of The Snapper saw both actors work with the director. Janice said it is great to be working with him again: “This is just my second time working with Charlie, but I'm really enjoying it. He's great to work with, it's a really fun process.”

Christine is also enjoying the practice: “Rehearsals are long, and we work hard, but we have a good bit of fun. We get a lot of work done in a short space of time.”
One of the most astonishing features of the play is that the three scheduled shows have already sold out: “We worked hard over the last number of years. COVID went very hard on our group, and we found it very hard to get our audiences back," Christine said.
“We listened to what the audiences want, we tried to give plays that people really wanted to see. It has worked, and we've sold out the last number of performances.”

Olly Kenny of Backstage Theatre Group said the public appetite for the show sees the group add an extra date: “Due to the play being sold out, with still two weeks to go, we've decided to have an extra night performance, because that's what we think the people of Longford want.”

“Calendar Girls is an upbeat and feelgood play, but there's the underlying issue of cancer at the core of the playf. Many members of our group have been touched by the dreaded disease that is cancer, with many losing family members to the disease. With this in mind, Backstage Theatre Group is going to donate the proceeds of their nightly raffle to Longford Hospice Homecare.”

The cast is: Cora: Niamh Hanley; Chris: Christine O’Brien; Annie: Janice Gibney; Jessie: Maureen Dunne; Celia: Laura Brennan; Ruth: Áine Brady; Marie: Dee Monahan; Brenda: Mary McLoughlin; John: Ger Rafferty; Rod: Phil Cox; Lady Cravenshire: Eileen Murphy; Lawrence: Davy Flaherty; Elaine: Michelle Ciba; and Liam: Anthony Heavey.
Calendar Girls will be staged at Backstage Theatre on Wednesday, March 12, to Saturday March 15, with the show commencing at 8pm.