Curtain Up On Wi’s Ladies
Filed Under Curtain Rods | Posted on September 29, 2008
When the ladies of the Rylstone and District Women’s Institute decided to bare all for a cheeky calendar, the idea was to raise a few hundred pounds to buy a sofa for their local hospital.
Photographed in the women’s kitchens and living rooms, the Alternative WI Calendar was tasteful nudity, Jam and Jerusalem style, with the women posing nude as they arranged flowers, poured tea and painted watercolours.
“It’s such an inspiring story. It started as a simple concept and became something huge. It captured the public’s imagination, partly, I think, because these were just ordinary women who had an idea and made it happen. Despite what has happened to them since they’ve never lost sight of what inspired them to do it in the first place.
“There are moments of pure genius in the script Tim Firth is a fantastic writer and has an amazing insight into what makes women tick.”
Gaynor says the cast made a point of not preparing too much for the nude scenes. “We all decided that since we were playing real women we needed to look like real women, not models,” she says. “The day we did the photoshoot we’d only just met so stripping off for the camera was a good ice-breaker! Lynda Bellingham, who plays Annie, just stood up and pulled off her robe – it was such a great thing to do because it immediately made the rest of us less nervous.
“The nude scenes are beautifully choreographed to make sure there are strategically placed items around us so we don’t show too much. Then again, this is live theatre where anything can happen!”
The Calendar Girls became a global phenomenon. The ladies of the Rylstone and District WI, nestling in the Skipton countryside, were suddenly stars on the red carpet. They were mobbed for autographs, they appeared on the Jay Leno chat show, watched by millions of Americans, and were thanked in person for their fundraising efforts by Prince Charles.
An assistant park officer for the Yorkshire Dales National Park, John grew sunflowers and gave them to friends and family in the hope that he’d live to see them flower.
John’s death stirred Angela and her fellow WI members to create their calendar. Initially the idea was to raise enough for a sofa for the visitors’ lounge in the hospital where John was treated.
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