Love Actually's Richard Curtis announces new festive show Christmas Actually

20 July 2023, 10:55 | Updated: 20 July 2023, 11:20

The iconic Love Actually screenwriter is putting on a Christmas production in aid of Comic Relief.

Love Actually creator Richard Curtis has announced a brand new stage show coming to London this December.

The famous screenwriter revealed he is working on a festive production called Christmas Actually, inspired by the hit 2003 rom-com starring Hugh Grant, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson.

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The hotly-anticipated spectacle isn't an adaptation of the much-loved movie or a sequel, but instead a variety-style collection of comedy, live music, performance and poetry.

The British film icon, 66, told BBC News: "We hope it'll be a real chocolate box - or perhaps advent calendar - of delights."

He also promised the audience a "noisy and emotional" ride "full of surprises and jokes, with some proper celebrity sparkle".

Christmas Actually will run for eight shows across 7th - 11th December at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in aid of Comic Relief.

Tickets for the star-studded production have already been released but are still on sale for fans hoping to snap up a seat for a good cause.

Curtis, who co-founded the charity with comedian Lenny Henry in 1985, explained how he hopes this production will make a difference to those experiencing poverty.

He said: "My strongest memory of Christmas, when I was young, was one year when my mother 'cancelled Christmas' and we gave all the cash we might have spent on presents and food to help with the famine in Biafra. But it was still a great Christmas.

"I'm hoping that people will have a really great time - but also be part of supporting brilliant Comic Relief projects changing people's lives, at home and abroad."

The screen writer, famed for his feel-good flicks from Notting Hill to Four Weddings and a Funeral, said: "I remember I didn't always love the Christmas shows I took my children to, but I always took them to one, so we thought it would be fun to make a show for Christmas that really is fun for all the family.

"And then the idea of doing it also to raise money for Comic Relief made the idea irresistible."

He added: "We hope to cram a wealth of wonder into 90 noisy minutes. I suspect some members of the audience will go away with presents they weren't expecting; there'll definitely be some rowdy singing along and some unexpected famous people will pop up on the screens and even in person."

The team behind Christmas Actually haven't yet revealed the celebrity line-up but judging Richard Curtis's starry circle, audience members are sure to be in for a treat.

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