BASED on a true story, Calendar Girls is an emotional tale of bereavement, fundraising and ultimately fame as six members of the WI decide the best way to raise money for the local hospital is by stripping off for a nude calendar.

The play version includes many of the amusing lines familiar to fans of the hit 2003 film, ensuring smiles and laughter all round for the majority of the time.

The most famous line of all, ‘We’re going to need considerably bigger buns’ unsurprisingly got the biggest laugh of all and was brilliantly delivered by Lesley Joseph, who, as Chris Harper, seemed most at ease with the semi-nude scenes.

Sue Holderness gives a moving portrayal of grieving widow Annie Clark, reminding the audience of the poignant reason behind the light-hearted calendar, particularly when differences of opinions over her late husband’s wishes and letters from others affected by cancer become the cause of a rift between Annie and publicity-hungry Chris.

The remainder of the company provide enjoyable perfomances as the other Calendar Girls and supporting roles, particularly Emmerdale’s Deena Payne as Cora and Kathryn Rooney’s portrayal of trophy wife Celia. Kevin Sacre becomes convincingly nervous as photographer Lawrence.

However, the trend of casting celebrity names to draw audiences in affects this production slightly; Camilla Dallerup, on stage for all of five minutes, tries to play the bimbo for laughs but falls short of this aim.

But overall, Calendar Girls delivers what today’s audiences are after – pure entertainment and a good night out. Definitely worth a visit.