West End Stars Light Up The Actors House Christmas Songbook
By Grace Hatchell
Some people celebrate Christmas with a tin of biscuits and a slightly competitive round of charades. Matt Henry is gathering a stageful of musical theatre stars at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. Fair enough, Matt. Put the rest of our festive arrangements to shame.
The full line-up has been announced for The Actors House Christmas Songbook, taking place on Monday 7 December 2026 at 7pm. With West End favourites, festive classics and a cause worth singing about, this one-night concert has rather more to offer than your neighbour’s annual assault on “Fairytale of New York”.
Olivier Award winner Matt Henry MBE will present the evening, joined by Beverley Knight MBE, Jess Folley and Oliver Tompsett. Now joining that already tempting line-up are Kerry Ellis, Divina De Campo, Carly Mercedes Dyer and Declan Bennett.
Honestly, you could stop there and have a perfectly respectable concert. Apparently, somebody looked at the list and decided we hadn’t been spoiled enough.
Henry will also reunite with four of his former The Devil Wears Prada co-stars: Amy Di Bartolomeo, Georgie Buckland, Keelan McAuley and Tosh Wanogho-Maud. A festive reunion with that much vocal talent? My Christmas catch-ups usually involve somebody forgetting the crackers and an argument over the heating.
There is a serious purpose behind all this seasonal sparkle. Every penny of the proceeds will support The Actors House, the social enterprise Henry founded in 2025 after his own experiences of touring.
It provides safe, good-quality and affordable accommodation for actors and creatives working away from home. Because taking a job on tour should involve learning your lines and finding the stage door, rather than wondering whether your digs will leave you enough money to eat.
Its first property, The Bradford House, opened in 2025, with plans for future accommodation in Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. As someone who likes to see theatre thriving beyond London, I’m very pleased to see regional touring getting some practical support. Applause is lovely; somewhere decent to sleep is fairly useful too.
The concert will also welcome Keziah Ibe, recently award-nominated for her professional debut as Eliza Doolittle in Chichester Festival Theatre’s summer production of My Fair Lady. Her appearance will celebrate the role regional theatres play in helping new performers find their feet.
And the opportunities extend beyond the spotlight.
Mountview student Luke Knowles will serve as Assistant Musical Director and contribute an original Christmas medley. Emily Phillips joins as Assistant Director, Alfie Main as Assistant Production Manager, and three emerging musicians will perform alongside West End players.
That is quite a classroom. I imagine you pay attention when the practical exercise involves accompanying Beverley Knight.
Henry and Wanogho-Maud will direct the evening, with Steve Holness as Musical Director and George Beet as Choreographer and Movement Director. Together, they’ll bring established performers and emerging talent to the same stage for an evening designed to make a difference long after the decorations come down.
Tickets range from £30 to £120. If your December diary has room for a gathering of terrific voices, a helping of Christmas music and some support for the people who keep touring theatre moving, this could be your festive night out sorted.
I’ll leave the singing to them. A kindness to everyone concerned.
The Actors House Christmas Songbook takes place at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, 166 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PW, on Monday 7 December 2026 at 7pm.
