Writer-director Richard Curtis, known for iconic British romantic comedies “Love Actually,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill,” has revealed his next venture.
“Christmas Actually” is a stage show encompassing live music, performance, poetry and comedy that will serve as a fundraiser for charity Comic Relief, BBC News reports. It is not a sequel to 2003 hit “Love Actually.”
Comic Relief is a charity founded by Curtis and Lenny Henry in 1985 in response to the famine in Ethiopia. Since then the charity has raised millions to help those in need via fundraisers where British comedians perform. Its annual event Red Nose Day is its biggest fund earner.
“Christmas Actually,” curated by Curtis, will play eight performances at London’s Royal Festival Hall Dec. 7-11.
“We hope it’ll be a real chocolate box – or perhaps advent calendar – of delights,” Curtis told BBC News, adding that it would be “noisy and emotional and full of surprises and jokes, with some proper celebrity sparkle.”
“I remember I didn’t always love the Christmas shows I took my children to, but I always took them to one,” Curtis said. “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.”
“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,” Curtis added.
Curtis has another Christmas-themed project in the works – an untitled New York-set film for Peacock where Melissa McCarthy, Paapa Essiedu and Marc Maron star in a fairy-tale comedy about a workaholic man who enlists the help of a magical genie to help win his family back before Christmas.
