‘Hope,’ A Poem for This Time

When Annie’s husband John dies of leukemia, she and her best friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital’s waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute members to pose nude with them for an “alternative” calendar. The news of the women’s charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on their small English village. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie’s friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame. Directed by Marianne Phinney and based on a true story, Calendar Girls by Tim Firth is the Walpole Footlighters next production.