“Christmas Actually,” the festive stage extravaganza curated by Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill”), has introduced its hosts and initial roster of guests.
Steering the Christmas spectacle will be Jayde Adams (“Greatest Days,” “Alma’s Not Normal,” “Strictly Come Dancing”) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (“Yesterday,” “Goodness Gracious Me”), with direction by Daniel Raggett (“Accidental Death of an Anarchist”). Joining the festive gathering are Olivier award-winning musical theater luminary Miriam-Teak Lee (“&Juliet,” “Hamilton”) and the musical comedy duo Flo & Joan.
Timeless Christmas tunes such as “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home,” “White Christmas,” “My Grown Up Christmas List,” and “All I Want For Christmas” will be showcased. The ensemble cast includes Marc Antolin, Elizabeth Ayodele, Stephan Boyce, and Jamie-Rose Monk.
Promising a star-studded lineup delivering live music, Christmas tales, poetry, and comedy, “Christmas Actually” pledges support to Comic Relief, with 5% of net profits earmarked for the charity. Curtis, a co-founder of Comic Relief, has spearheaded fundraising efforts exceeding £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) since the charity’s inception in 1985, aiding organizations combating poverty and injustice in the U.K. and worldwide.
Scheduled at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall from Dec. 7-11, the show will feature a talented band including Russell Bennett (trumpet), Adam Bourne (guitar), Elliot Davis (keys), James Gambold (drums), Charles Rothwell (saxophone), and Tom Sansbury (bass). The creative team comprises set and costume designer Peter McKintosh, lighting designer Ben Rogers, assistant lighting designer Emily Darlington, sound designer Oscar Thompson, projection designer Duncan McLean, and musical director Elliot Davis.
In addition to “brilliantly terrible” Christmas cracker jokes and children’s amusing letters to Father Christmas, the event promises an old-fashioned singalong. More celebrity guests are set to be unveiled soon.
Meanwhile, the holiday comedy “Genie,” scripted by Curtis and starring Melissa McCarthy, is set to premiere on Peacock on Nov. 22.
