Stourbridge Calendar Girls show raises £8,500 for charity (From Stourbridge News)

Stourbridge Calendar Girls show raises £8,500 for charity

5:00pm Thursday 3rd January 2013 in News

STOURBRIDGE stage stars will be handing over £8,500 to help leukaemia and lymphoma sufferers following their successful charity production of Calendar Girls.

Stourbridge Theatre Company staged the show, based on the true tale of a group WI pals from Yorkshire who stripped off for a fundraising calendar, to near sell-out audiences at Stourbridge Town Hall back in November.

The company was one of the only drama groups in the country to pledge to donate its entire show profits to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research - the charity that has become synonymous with the real-life Calendar Girls who raised millions through their nude calendar antics and inspired a blockbuster film.

STC chairman Tim French said “We felt it was only right that the profits should be given to Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research to help in some small way with continuing research into this dreadful disease.

“We are very pleased with the support we received from our near sell out audiences.”

The show was even attended by one of the real-life Calendar Girls.

Rylstone and District WI member Beryl Bamforth, aged 78, the original calendar's Miss January and a seasoned amateur actress and director, journeyed from Yorkshire to see the production, which was one of the first amateur outings of Calendar Girls in the region.

Stoubridge thespians plan to hand over the money they raised to charity representatives at St Joseph’s Primary School, Lea Vale Road, Norton, at 7.30pm on Monday January 7.

Phillippa Jones, regional manager for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, said: “I would like to thank the company for their generous donation which helps us continue our research which focusses on finding causes, improving diagnosis and treatments, and running ground-breaking clinical trials for all blood cancer patients.”

She added: “It is fantastic to see the fundraising legacy of the Calendar Girls live on through the work of amateur theatre companies such as Stourbridge Theatre Company.”

The original Calendar Girls were inspired to create their revealing calendar in memory of John Baker who died from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1998, aged 54.

Their aim was to raise enough money for a new sofa for the hospital where John was treated but after receiving international press interest and inspiring the popular 2003 film starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters their efforts have generated over £3million.