Teylu Theatre Company brings Calendar Girls to Cornwall for a personal cause

The women who inspired Calendar Girls posed for a nude calendar to pay for a hospital cancer ward waiting area. Now a cast from Cornwall and Devon is staging the play for a strikingly similar reason, and three of them have been treated for cancer themselves.

The Teylu Theatre Company is bringing the award-winning comedy to stages across Cornwall and Devon this summer. Teylu means family in Cornish, and the new community theatre company for adults is based in South East Cornwall with performers drawn from both counties.

A story about hope and friendship

Calendar Girls is a funny, uplifting and moving story about hope and the power of women’s friendships. The play by Tim Firth is based on the true story of WI members who posed nude for a calendar to raise money for the waiting area in the cancer ward at their local hospital.

Why this production is personal

Teylu’s staging is raising money for the new Plymouth Radiotherapy Development Fund at Derriford Hospital, which aims to improve the experience of patients being treated there. For several of the people involved, the cause runs close to home. Three members of the cast have been treated at the radiotherapy centre at Derriford in recent years.

One of them has also been helped by Boost in Liskeard, a company that makes breast forms. Boost is supporting the production by offering free rehearsal space, and the cast has been photographed rehearsing at Boost House in Liskeard.

Where and when to see it

The play tours four venues across Cornwall and Devon:

• Sterts Arts and Environmental Centre, Upton Cross: July 29 and 30
• Devonport Playhouse, Plymouth: August 1
• Tavistock Town Hall: August 7
• Launceston Town Hall: August 14

A gala night at Sterts

There is a gala show at Sterts on July 30 with special guests including the radiotherapy team and Boost, along with tea and cakes and music from Liskeard Silver Band. The fundraising team has been working hard ahead of the run, and Teylu hopes to raise a large sum for the charity.

Tickets and information

Tickets for the Sterts performances can be booked through the Sterts box office, and tickets for the wider tour are available on Teylu Theatre Company’s TicketSource page.

Cast members Kath, Bernice and Laura are all cancer survivors. Laura is also the Chair of Teylu.