Calendar Girls

Calendar Girls at Berkhamsted Centenary Theatre

Calendar Girls the Musical centres around a group of ladies from a village in the rolling hills of the Yorkshire Dales. Annie's husband John dies from leukaemia at an early age. Her close friend Chris wants to buy a comfortable sofa for the visitors' lounge in the hospital where John was treated. To raise funds, she suggests printing a calendar featuring members of the local Women's Institute, discreetly posing nude while engaged in traditional WI activities, such as baking and knitting. Her proposal is initially met with scepticism, but she eventually convinces some to participate in the project with her. They enlist one of the hospital workers, an amateur photographer named Lawrence, to help them.

The show, which features music by Gary Barlow and script by Tim Firth (who also wrote the stage play and worked on the film) includes a host of captivating and inspiring songs sprinkled with a good dose of Yorkshire grit and wit.

The result is a multi-layered piece that manages to interweave themes with resonance for everyone; friendship, community, self-doubt, ageing and grief - yet love shines through it all.

Featuring a stellar cast including a group of brave women prepared to bare all for a worthy cause, the show is ultimately an uplifting piece of theatre which will have the audience laughing one minute, weeping the next and singing the songs on their way home.

The production is being staged by The Hospice of St Francis, raising funds for our free hospice care, which costs over £6 million every year. Founded by local people for local people, our Hospice supports patients living with life-limiting illness in Herts and Bucks. Your support can make the difference for families in your community.