“Christmas Actually,” a festive stage show curated by Richard Curtis (“Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill”), has unveiled its hosts and first tranche of guests.
The Christmas show will be hosted by Jayde Adams (“Greatest Days,” “Alma’s Not Normal,” “Strictly Come Dancing”) and Sanjeev Bhaskar (“Yesterday,” “Goodness Gracious Me”) and directed by Daniel Raggett (“Accidental Death of an Anarchist”). The first guests announced are Olivier award-winning musical theater star Miriam-Teak Lee (“&Juliet,” “Hamilton”) and musical comedy duo Flo & Joan.
Christmas classics featured in the show will include “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home,” “White Christmas,” “My Grown Up Christmas List” and “All I Want For Christmas.” The ensemble performers will be Marc Antolin, Elizabeth Ayodele, Stephan Boyce and Jamie-Rose Monk.
The variety show in support of Comic Relief promises a celebrity lineup performing live music, Christmas stories, poetry and comedy. “Christmas Actually” will help raise funds for the charity during the festive period with 5% of net profits being donated to Comic Relief. Curtis is co-founder of Comic Relief, and the charity has raised over £1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) to support organizations that support people trying to get by in the face of poverty and injustice in the U.K. and around the world since launching in 1985.
“Christmas Actually” will take place at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall from Dec. 7-11. The band will include Russell Bennett (trumpet), Adam Bourne (guitar), Elliot Davis (keys), James Gambold (drums), Charles Rothwell (saxophone) and Tom Sansbury (bass). The creative team for “Christmas Actually” will include 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.
The show will also feature “brilliantly terrible” Christmas cracker jokes read by celebrities on screen, children’s hilarious letters to Father Christmas and an old-fashioned singalong. Further celebrity guests will be revealed imminently.
Holiday comedy “Genie,” written by Curtis and starring Melissa McCarthy, premieres on Peacock on Nov. 22.
