Dolly Mixtures are the new Calendar Girls

The true story of a group of extraordinary North East women is being brought to life at The Customs House theatre in South Shields this summer.

The Dolly Mixtures is an all-new musical about eight incredible women who set-up a variety act when one of their husbands was diagnosed with cancer – later going on to raise £100,000 in the 1970s and 1980s.

It is written by the award-winning playwright and poet Tom Kelly and music star John Miles, who were behind hit shows Tom & Catherine, The Machine Gunners and Dan Dare at the arts venue.

The women formed an unbreakable bond - touring the male dominated social clubs of the North East, breaking down barriers and raising smiles, eyebrows and £100,000 along the way.

The fabulous, funny and cheeky Dolly Mixtures donned crazy wigs and costumes, sang their hearts out and generally made fun of themselves all for an amazing cause.

When Ken was diagnosed the ‘Dollys’ had a pipedream to make his time in hospital more comfortable. They wanted to bring some happiness to the ward with a small gesture such as a dart board or pool table – no-one could have imagined that their little living room skits, which caused them to laugh so much would turn into such an inspirational story and such a lot of money for charity.

The girls took to the road, while juggling kids and full time jobs, to perform with all the funds going straight to cancer research.

The Dolly Mixtures runs from Wednesday August 24 to Saturday September 3.