Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s musical The Girls, based on the hit 2003 film Calendar Girls, plays a multi-Olivier Award-nominated West End premiere season at the Phoenix Theatre.

Based on a true story, a Women’s Institute group seek an innovative way to fundraise for a local hospital in memory of one of their husbands, becoming ordinary ladies who achieve the extraordinary in the process.

When the group come up with the idea of posing for a tasteful nude calendar, becoming the Yorkshire Calendar Girls, the story becomes a media sensation, and the group are thrust into the limelight – along with their friendships and strained personal lives.

Based on the true story, the film and then award-winning play have both received critical acclaim, with the latter at The Grand Theatre in Leeds and The Lowry Theatre, Salford, and the musical adaptation now taking the West End by storm with three Olivier Award nominations including Mastercard Best New Musical.

Looking to see some musical theatre? Find out more about London musicals.