GARY BARLOW OBE
Singer-songwriter, composer and record producer The process of creating The Girls started about four years ago with my friend Tim Firth whom I’ve known since I was about 15. We actually come from the same village; Frodsham in Cheshire. He came to see me and shared with me his idea that he wanted to make the film and play of Calendar Girls into a musical. He took me to see the play, which was on tour in the UK at the time, in Milton Keynes, and I was very inspired by it and wanted to write some music. Four years on and I think what we’ve got is a very good start of a musical; of course we are tinkering and tailoring it all the time but we are very happy where we are at the moment. I think The Girls carries a very universal message about people looking out for one another. It’s the life of a small village, it’s a story of love, it’s the story of loss, and it’s a story that could happen in any village anywhere in the world. I think the fact that it’s based in Yorkshire gives a real strength to the comedy as I think you get the in-jokes of a small town in the UK, but it will still translate universally.
Meeting the original girls was amazing. I think working to a storyline is one thing but working to a true story gives it an entirely different feel. You want to dig deeper in yourself when it’s something that’s happened to real people, and when you meet the people that it’s happened to, it definitely made it feel much more real and meaningful. It’s very important to us that this was to launch in the north of England, because we wanted it to open in the part of the country where it started and we’re not that far from there, being in Leeds and Manchester. We are also opening in two of the most beautiful theatres in the country so that is always an attraction. Manchester for me is obviously very important, it’s the place I always call my home town when I play up north, and so between Yorkshire and Manchester it’s great that this show is getting its first viewings in those regions. We have hopes and dreams it could be as big a success as the original Calendar Girls have made their story.
The Girls is at The Lowry, Salford from 8–30 January 2016. For more information: thelowry.com | @The_Lowry
© Matt Crockett
@visit_mcr | visitmanchester.com
47