Calendar Girls cast announced

Leading Australian theatre producer John Frost today announced the all-star cast of women who will bring the British hit comedy Calendar Girls to life on the Australian stage, with the Australian Premiere at QPAC’s Lyric Theatre, Brisbane.

Australia’s “Calendar Girls” are Lorraine Bayly, Rachel Berger, Rhonda Burchmore, Cornelia Frances, Jean Kittson, Anna Lee and Amanda Muggleton.

“We searched far and wide, talking to nearly every actress of ‘a certain age’, and have found an incredible group of woman to bring the most successful British comedy of the past decade to the Australian stage,” Frost said.

“Calendar Girls is not only hilarious but also profoundly moving and uplifting. UK audiences couldn’t get enough of the show and we’re sure Australian audiences are going to fall in love with it too.”

Calendar Girls is based on the very successful film of the same name starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, which in turn was based on an uplifting and inspiring true story that is quirky, poignant and hilarious. A group of ordinary middle-aged women, members of a very ordinary Yorkshire Women’s Institute, do something quite extraordinary. They spark a global phenomenon by persuading one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference! As interest snowballs, the Calendar Girls find themselves revealing more than they’d ever planned…

Calendar Girls has played to sold-out audiences on the West End for well over a year, and is the fastest selling regional tour in British theatre history. It has recently been nominated as Best New Comedy at the 2010 Oliver Awards.

The show opens in Brisbane on April 8 at QPAC then transfers to Sydney’s Theatre Royal from April 29 and to Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from June 17.

Single tickets are available now for the Brisbane season, and go on sale in Sydney and Melbourne on February 22.