Review: Calendar Girls, Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells, Monday, October 22

by Helen Geraghty

And so the letters poured in. Just as the atmosphere is turning sour for the Calendar Girls, down from the rafters above the stage come hundreds of letters of support, falling faster and faster.

One-by-one the women, still stunned by earlier arguments, pick up and read out the letters from cancer sufferers who have been cheered and helped by their no-nonsense nude calendar in aid of the disease.

It is just one of the touching moments of this play with simple humour and a slightly saucy outlook that is dotted with celebs from Ruth Madoc (Hi-de-Hi), to Lesley Joseph (Birds of a Feather), Kacey Ainsworth (EastEnders) and Deena Payne (Emmerdale).

Heart-warming? Certainly. A good and sturdy play, that you can safely take your teenage daughter, your mother and your grandma to.

Running until Saturday, October 27. Box office 01892 530613.