Calendar Girls to Embark on a New U.K National Tour in 2010

By Mark Shenton
October 30, 2009

The stage version of the film "Calendar Girls," which originated at Chichester Festival Theatre in September 2008 before touring and then arriving at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre in April 2009, is to hit the road again.

It will begin performances at Chichester Festival Theatre Jan. 25, 2010, and after a two-week run there will continue to Salford's Lowry (Feb. 8-20), Birmingham Hippodrome (Feb. 22-27), Southend's Cliffs Pavilion (March 1-6), Leeds Grand (March 8-13), Milton Keynes Theatre (March 15-27), Newcastle's Theatre Royal (March 29-April 10) and Sheffield's Lyceum (April 12-24).

It is currently playing at London's Coward Theatre through Jan. 9, 2010, and it was previously stated that it would be looking to move to another West End address that was still to be announced. However, a press spokesperson was unable to confirm whether the new tour would be instead of or in addition to a separate West End transfer.

The touring production will see the return to the cast of original cast member Lynda Bellingham (a recent contestant on TV's "Strictly Come Dancing") as Chris – Miss October, as well as West End takeovers Gemma Atkinson (best known for her work on TV in "Hollyoaks" and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here") as Celia – Miss September, Debbie Chazen (a regular on "Doctor Who", and star of TV's "Tittybangbang" and "Psychoville") as Ruth – Miss November, and Kathryn Rooney as Elaine. Also in the touring production will be Jan Harvey (best known for six series Howard's Way on TV) as Annie – Miss February, Letitia Dean (star of TV's "EastEnders" and "Strictly Come Dancing") as Cora – Miss July, Judith Barker (recently in TV's "Heartbeat," "The Royal" and "Waterloo Road") as Jessie – Miss January and Michael Peluso (son of Lynda Bellingham making his stage debut) as the photographer Lawrence.

Calendar Girls is written by Tim Firth and directed by Hamish McColl. It features a set by Robert Jones, with lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, costumes by Emma Williams and music by Steve Parry. It is produced by David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers.

To book tickets for the West End, contact the box office at 0844 482 5140 (where the normal £1.50 booking fee goes to leukemia research). To book for the touring dates, visit www.seecalendargirls.com