This afternoon, I went to a presentation of the play “Calendar Girls” (adapted from the movie (2003) of the same name, which was in turn based on a true story), presented by the Little Theatre Group of Costa Rica, a group of English speaking volunteer thespians and crew who have been delighting the audiences of Costa Rica for 59 years now.
I’d already seen a few productions of theirs before, and liked them; but I have to say, I was impressed with “Calendar Girls”. And not just the production itself – which was excellently acting and funny, while addressing some serious issues, but the story behind the play. It’s about a group of middle-aged women in the north of England who got together to do a nude calendar in order to purchase a new sofa for a local hospital, where the husband of one of them had been getting treated for cancer (which proved to be terminal). It was apparently a huge success, and there have been adaptations of it all over the world (including one here in Costa Rica – for the local animal shelters).
And… not only was the play wonderful, all the proceeds from the performance and the small auction that followed are going to assist the Earthquake Fund, for help to the people who suffered in the January 8th earthquake that took place around Poas. Even now, according to the British Ambassador (who was up in that region last week), and someone who has lived in the area for 40 years now, there’s still a huge amount of damage – to homes, to businesses, to community buildings, and to the environment – that needs to be dealt with.
So, not only did we get to see a play that was both poignant and amusing, but assist in helping the victims of the quake. Something to feel proud about.
😉 tag0