After COVID meant we couldn’t do the 2020 shows as normal, we moved everything online for our 25 hour plus extravaganza Nine Lessons and Carols for Socially Distanced People. 2021 was meant to be a return to the stage, and a return to normal. And for a brief period, it was…
Despite an ever changing run order due to pings and such from performers before the show, the first night and the matinee went off without a hitch but then we had to stop the third show early due to a small fire, an escaped hydrogen balloon and an overzealous chemist…
Then Omicron arrived in full force and so we decided to postpone the final two shows until Easter weekend, April 16 and 17. (Tickets for the postponed shows will still be valid for these shows). So instead we did a three hour impromptu livestream show from home which you can watch here.
All profits from this year’s run of shows went towards our chosen charities COVAX and Maytree Respite Centre as well as, when in the theatre, collecting a bunch of essential items for the Euston Foodbank.
What happened this year?
When we did get on stage at Kings Place it was definitely Nine Lessons of old. Robin Ince was his usual masterful MC self, Jocelyn Bell Burnell ‘bled’ ketchup, Fran Scott blew up balloons with a Raspberry Pi, Helen Czerski mentioned poo, our pianist was given a handful of dinosaur poo from Anjana Khatwa, John-Luke Roberts wondered if it really is better to have loved and lost, Isy Suttie regailed Wales, Tom Shakespeare took us on a journey of disabled revolutionaries, Anil Seth pondered our perception of reality and our traditional Christmas ghost story was performed by someone who actually can see ghosts, in Ghosts, the incredible Charlotte Ritchie. Then we took it all online, through necessity, for the final two shows smashed together. And, of course, there was a whole lot more too. Just don’t mention the pigs. Please.
We hope to see you at the postponed shows in April and then back again for the normal ones (please, please, please…) in December 2022.
Enjoy the gallery below of just some of the fun.
GALLERY
A selection of photos from the shows taken by Dave Hughes.
Robin Ince
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Charlotte Ritchie
Chris Jackson
Isy Suttie
Robyn Hitchcock
Anjana Khatwa
Tom Shakespeare
Helen Czerski
Sammie Buzzard
Pragya Agarwal
Katie Steckles
Fran Scott
John-Luke Roberts
Suze Kundu
Peter Buckley Hill
Erica McAlister
Anil Seth
George Egg
Gemma Arrowsmith
Hannah James
Mary O’Connell
Seb Lee-Delisle
Helen Scales
Lori Hopkins
Jonny Berliner
Helen Arney
Alina Ivan
Zoe Griffiths
Carly Howett
Hannah James & Giuliano Modarelli
Bec Hill
Matt Parker and Lucie Green
Gecko
Helen Sharman and Chris Lintott
Eddie Izzard