Catholic actors from stage and screen gathered at Allen Hall in Chelsea on 6 December for their annual Christmas dinner and party.
Guests invited to the event organized by the Catholic Association of Performing Arts (CaAPA) included the award winning actress Janie Dee, who will be performing with Angela Landsbury in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit in the West End; Frank Finlay CBE, whose many roles included Iago in Laurence Oliver's production of Othello and Denis Potter's television serialisation of Casanova; and CaAPA chairman Frank Comerford, who with his wife Mary heads The Stage Family Board.
Also present were Trevor Littledale, who recently performed his one-man show Two Halves of Guinness for CaAPA in Covent Garden; writer Tom Lee; the French-Italian actor Giuseppe Lentini; Gabrielle Lister who runs CaAPA's annual Drama Student Awards evening and Anthony Speaight QC (a relative of the actor Robert Speaight). The MC was Michael Slater.
After the festive meal there were several impromptu performances, then as the evening drew to a close, Mgr Vladimir Felzman, Chair of Trustees and Fr Dennis Touw Tempelmans-Plat led a short prayer under the ancient mulberry tree, all that remains of Saint Thomas More's Chelsea estate which lies in the grounds of Allen Hall.
The Catholic Association of Performing Arts (formerly the Catholic Stage Guild) which celebrated their centenary last year is the main organisation for Catholics in the world of drama and entertainment. For more information see: http://caapa.org.uk/
