This is the story of an enterprising group of ladies who are members of their local Women’s Institute ( a very staid and traditional organisation), who decide to go against these traditions in an effort to raise funds to purchase a couch for the waiting room at their local hospital, where the husband of one of them is a regular visitor undergoing tests for cancer, which unfortunately turn out to be not only positive but with a terminal diagnosis. Having noticed a nude calendar in the premises of a local car mechanic, the ladies decide to attempt their own version featuring other members of the group in discretely nude poses featuring the more traditional activities of the WI, such as baking, jam making, knitting and musical activities and set about trying to convince the other members of the group to partake in this venture.
When Annie’s (Becky Larner) husband John (Anthony Rogers) dies from leukaemia towards the beginning of the storyline, it falls to Annie’s friend Chris (Jen Davies) to persuade the other members of the group to get on board with the idea of a nude (not naked) calendar in which they all would all be to take part. The idea is originally met with considerable scepticism, particularly from the group’s chair Marie (Leanne Thorniley) so the Chris and Annie take their case to the national congress of the WI, who pass the buck back to Marie, who reluctantly gives her blessing to the project. All the women manage to overcome their initial shyness and decide to bare (nearly) all to raise much needed funds for the purchase of a couch for the hospital waiting room. The other female cast members who I have not yet mentioned (Jenny Arundale, Helen Macey, Anna Evans, Nicola Wilkinson and Natalie Farrar) all gave excellent performances as their individual characters and huge credit must go to Jade Wilbraham (ably assisted by Kat Bond and Dawn Rogers) for putting together a really excellent production on all fronts.
One thing which I think deserves special mention was the background sound design (which I believe was co-ordinated by Stuart Dean) which consisted of several different but well-known songs played exclusively on solo acoustic guitar. Do not know if these were pre-recorded or put together by musicians from NK itself but whatever the origin of these pieces the overall effect was excellent.
Considering the subject matter, it was amazing how much humour was available within the context of the production and the cast had the audience in stiches throughout the performance. It is also a credit to the cast both front and backstage that the show was used as a fund-raising event where all profits from both ticket and merchandise sales were donated to the Christie Hospital in Manchester. The programme gave details of how each member had been affected by their knowledge of friends and relations who had been touched by cancer in whatever form.
Reviewer: David S Clarke
Reviewed: 9th April 2026
North West End UK Rating: