Review: We Need A Little Christmas, The Actor’s Church

It has been a long year, a very long year in the case of our beloved performers who have, like so many others, been out of work since March. 

A big part of a performer’s job is to bring joy to its audience and this is no more prevalent than at Christmas – the season of joy and goodwill. It is with that in mind that lots of performers have had to explore other mediums in order to remain safe and continue to do the job that they love. 

The main and easiest way, since live performances aren’t available, is to stream the performance and that brings us nicely to our latest streamed offering We Need A Little Christmas, set against the beautiful interior backdrop of The Actors Church in London’s Covent Garden, decorated in all its festive glory. 

Presented by Denise Welch, a plethora of industry names have given up their time to bring us some festive tunes and raise money for Shelter and Crisis at Christmas. 

Amongst the delightful voices of Brenda Edwards, Cassidy Janson, Dom Hartley-Harris, Lydia Lucy and the West End Gospel Choir to name but a few, we have a reading from acclaimed actor Simon Callow who brings us an excerpt from Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, a role which has performed to great success many times. 

The show is stolen by Dame Maureen Lipman with her short clip making light, in the way only she can, of this year’s events: the conversations we’ve all had about Christmas, tiers and a delightful description of Boris Johnson! In times like these, we all need to smile. 

We are also treated to a performance from Strictly Come Dancing’s Kevin Clifton or as he is affectionately known “Kevin from Grimsby”, who dances to ‘Rocking Around The Christmas Tree’ and still has enough energy to treat us to the final verses of the song.

Lydia Lucy’s ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is a personal highlight of the evening and Lee Mead gifts us with the video to his new Christmas song ‘In My Arms For Christmas’, a song that is particularly poignant this year. 

The concert brings the warm Christmas glow that we have been missing this year and whilst we are stuck at home without live performances for a little while longer, it’s time to get cosy and enjoy the festive offering available for streaming until Friday 1 January at a cost of £20, with all proceeds going to the aforementioned charity.

A perfect way to end 2020.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Emma Littler

Tickets for the stream can be purchased here.