The Girls

The Grand Theatre, Leeds

THE remarkable story of six members of the Rylstone and District WI - who bared all to buy a hospital sofa and went on to raise over £4 million for leukaemia research - is so widely known, you wonder what could possibly be left to say.

First came the film, then the play, and along the way countless TV interviews and appearances both sides of the Atlantic. The WI ladies whose nude calendar changed the face of fundraising were catapulted from their Dales villages to global fame - but never lost sight of what inspired them.

Sitting a few seats from Angela Baker and her two children at last night's world premiere of The Girls, I wondered how it must feel to have something so wonderful - and this show is wonderful - come from something so unbearably sad as the loss of a husband and father.

It was John Baker's death from leukaemia, aged 53, that led Angela, Trish Stewart and other members of their WI group near Skipton to take a deep breath and slip out of their clothes for what turned out to be a beautifully shot calendar, featuring the women pictured with teapots, cake-stands, knitting wool, and gathered around a piano.

Now their story has been turned into a lively musical - a Yorkshire musical, penned by two Lancastrians. Gary Barlow and Tim Firth have spent four years working on this show, and it's a triumph. The Girls has the potential to be for Yorkshire what Blood Brothers is to Liverpool, and Billy Elliot is to the North East.

The show develops the Calendar Girls story by exploring its impact on the women's families and village community. Each of the six women has their own song - each one is as touching as it is funny - and we also meet their husbands and children. This is a story of middle-age, and there's a lovely 'through the generations' strand weaving throughout, particularly with Chris and Cora coping with motherhood and reflecting on life before children.

The Girls is a joy, from start to finish. It works so well as a musical, thanks largely to Gary Barlow's songwriting magic which has turned new songs into instant classics. His ode to the White Rose - the rousing anthem Yorkshire, which opened the show - is a gem, and watching Gary sing it with the cast and original Calendar Girls, on a stage bathed in sunflowers in last night's finale, was a treat.

Every number was a joy, not least Annie's moving song Scarborough and the soul-stirring Dare. With Tim Firth's sparkling script making us laugh and cry, the show is a riot of northern humour.

A terrific cast was led by Joanna Riding as Annie, delivering a powerful portrayal of the quiet desperation of grief, with her feet firmly on the ground. Particularly moving was her song Kilimanjaro, confronting the reality of bereavement. Claire Moore was great as Chris, whose showstopping rage against cancer at the WI national conference had the audience crying and cheering.

Delightful performances too from the other 'Girls'; Claire Machin as plucky single mum Cora, Debbie Chazen as shy Ruth, Vivien Parry as golf club glamour girl Celia, Sara Kestelman as reserved Jessie and Harriet Thorpe as frosty WI president Marie.

James Gaddas played John beautifully, capturing the humour and bravery of the man at the heart of the Calendar Girls story.

And a special mention to the younger cast members, Ben Hunter, Chloe Jackson and Josh Benson - three names to watch out for.

"Girls like you don't join the WI," Chris tells young Jenny, played with great comic timing by Chloe. "Well you did," she replies.

This show will have you howling with laughter one minute, and mopping tears from your eyes the next.

It is, of course, particularly moving for anyone who has been touched by cancer - and surely that's pretty much everyone.

Runs until December 12