Baring (almost) all for charity: Calendar Girls is coming to Kerikeri

Some of the Kerikeri Calendar Girls cast and calendar models - Judy Terry (left), Les Robinson, Penny Gorrie, Viv Thonger, Trudie Smith, Jocelyn Kroll, Stefanie Crawley, Denise Nawisielski, Janette Walker, Gill West and Janine Snowling. Picture / Peter de Graaf

A small group of Kerikeri women are preparing to bare almost all in the name of entertainment and charity.

The Stage Door Theatre Company's production of Calendar Girls, the heart-warming, humorous play that has toured the world raising money for cancer charities since the 1990s, will play the Turner Centre over Thursday to Saturday next week (August 1-3) at 7pm, with one last show at 4pm on the Sunday.

Calendar Girls, which was a hugely successful movie, was inspired by the true story of a Women's Institute in Yorkshire that set about raising funds for a couch at a cancer unit in memory of the husband of one of the members. They agreed to pose nude in a raunchier — but still tasteful — version of their annual fundraising calendar.

Credit for bringing the play to Kerikeri goes to Stage Door Theatre Company committee member Jenny Blackler.

Artistic director David Crewe said the play "has everything," and the cast had truly got on board, due in part to the fact that between them they knew 42 people affected by cancer.

"That really has inspired them to want to be involved in the show. It's a very heart-warming story, and it's humorous. The main thing is it's a true story, which is important," David said. "We've got a great cast, they're really enthusiastic."

The Stage Door has also produced its own calendar, funded by local businesses and photographed by Flash Gordon Photography, which is on sale at photo shoot locations around Kerikeri, with a sum from each sale going to the Child Cancer Foundation.

Play tickets are $20 for students under 16, $35 adults, with $5 from each ticket also going to Child Cancer.