Tim attended Stockton Heath Primary School, the inspiration for the village hall setting in Calendar Girls. He spent much of his school years writing songs and plays before going on to King’s College, Cambridge, where he was active in Footlights, the University’s student comedy society.
After university, he wrote and composed music for award-winning shows and met Alan Ayckbourn in Scarborough, who commissioned him to write a play for the Stephen Joseph Theatre Studio. His one-act play A Man of Letters was a success and led to a commission for a full-length play, Neville’s Island.
In 2003, Firth wrote Calendar Girls, later adapting it into a 2007 film that grossed $96 million worldwide. Reflecting on its success, he said:
“Even if you haven’t been touched by the disease that inspired the story, you will still have overcome hardships and obstacles in your life. And I think overcoming obstacles like that – with wit and humour – is something that speaks to everybody. The reason Calendar Girls has worked is because people have laughed so much that they’ve been able to release what they feel emotionally about the story. It’s smothered in laughter, and the message is that laughter is the weapon.”
The story is based on true events and follows a group of women who attend regular WI meetings at their local village hall. After the death of her best friend’s husband from cancer, spirited Yorkshire housewife Chris Harper devises a plan to raise money for a memorial.
Drawing on the traditions of the Women's Institute, Chris encourages Annie (her best friend and the widow) and their friends to create a calendar, featuring themselves as nude models. The idea shocks their husbands and the young photographer they enlist, but over time, the project proves to be a remarkable success.
This heart-warming comedy is a story of love, loss, resilience, and the power of community.