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Assembly Hall Theatre bares all for charity

The ladies, and gentlemen, who work at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, have been inspired by the hit show Calendar Girls, which plays there later this month, to bare all for a charity calendar.

They have been pictured in a series of cheeky shots for a 2013 calendar, being sold in aid of the theatre and the mayor’s chosen charity – Hospice in the Weald – which that provides individualised care free of charge to patients with life-limiting illnesses, their carers and families in West Kent and East Sussex. Last year the theatre raised over £4,600 for the hospice and this year it is determined to double that figure.

Preferring to keep her real name anonymous and staying resolutely in character, Miss July said: “I was quite nervous when the idea was raised as I am the quiet one in the office! However, it became even more poignant to support Hospice in the Weald, when I lost a friend to breast cancer in May. She was aged just 43 with a nine-year old daughter and partner.”

Hospice in the Weald, Pembury, Kent was established in 1980. Rachel Holweger, its fundraising director said: “We’re absolutely delighted that this project is raising money for Hospice in the Weald. Fundraising really can be fun and we hope that all those taking part and buying the calendar know how grateful we are for this. We are a local charity relevant to many people and we really need this help”.

Brian McAteer, director of the Assembly Hall Theatre commented: “‘When the Assembly Hall Theatre team told me about their idea for a calendar I honestly didn’t believe they would do it! But, having viewed the finished calendar, I think it’s tasteful, comical and very, very cheeky! The calendar will add to the Theatre’s fund raising for the Hospice, a very deserving local charity.’

Copies of the Assembly Hall Theatre calendar will be available to buy from the theatre box office, Hospice in the Weald (Pembury and Mount Ephraim) and Love is Boutique from 22 October to coincide with the opening night of the show.

The current tour of Calendar Girls (reviewed 15 September) stars Lesley Joseph as Miss October, Sue Holderness as Miss February, Ruth Madoc as Miss March, Kathryn Rooney as Miss September, Camilla Dallerup as Miss May, Helen Fraser as Miss January, Deena Payne as Miss July and Kacey Ainsworth as Miss November. It tells the tale of a group of ordinary women who do something extraordinary and spark a global phenomenon when they persuade one another to pose for a charity calendar with a difference! 

- by Paul Lucas-Scott

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