An Edinburgh woman has shared how she is ready to 'bare all' as she takes to the stage along with her co-stars as they bring the story of Calendar Girls to the capital.
Sam Lea, 55, spoke to Edinburgh Live about her role in the iconic upcoming play, which centres around a group of women fundraising for a local hospital after one of their husbands tragically passes from leukaemia.
A former cancer patient herself, Sam, who plays Chris, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 at the age of 41, and went through several rounds of treatment before being given the all clear.
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With many others in the cast and crew also having been touched by the disease, Sam shared how the group have formed a close bond as they prepared for the performance.
She said: "I work at the Maggie's centre in the fundraising department which obviously resonates with the fundraising team of the play.
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 but thankfully it was all discovered really early and treated and I'm in remission now. As a result of the diagnosis I went to the Maggie's centre and fell in love with everyone. Then for about 10 years I went away, it's healthy to have the distance between active treatment and recovering to stepping through the doors again and becoming a volunteer.
"I've been in amateur dramatics stuff for a while but I love Calendar Girls and saw it advertised on Facebook so I went to an audition in the summer and really wanted the part of Chris.
"Everyone knows the story it's really brilliant, it's funny and the writing is fantastic. It's been a joy to work with the team they are amazing, there's a really high level of professionalism and a real camaraderie has grown between what was a group of strangers. We've now become a really good group of friends just like the characters in the play."
The show is known for its comedic elements and of course, the calendar pictures themselves, which sees the women strip off for their retrospective months.
With the cast set to bare all on-stage, Sam added: "We're all in it together and have to strip off to a certain extent on stage so we've all got each other's backs, and each other's fronts really.
"We've been really reassured by the production team though to feel safe and comfortable and been done in a certain way, and we've had a lot of support from the sides and it's all very clever and choreographed."
Running from November 9-12 at the Church Hill Theatre, collections will be running before and after each performance for both the Maggie's centre and Brain Tumour Research.
Describing the show as one that "takes the audience on a journey of loss, laughs and losing your inhibitions", director, James Dickson added: “This isn’t a play about nudity. This is a play that showcases female friendships in the face of the every day and human loss. This is about testing friendships and triumphing through adversity.”
You can get tickets for the show here.
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