Actors and Musicians Perform At Old St Mary’s Church

On Saturday, December 11, at 7:45 pm, a group of renowned actors and musicians will give a special performance at Old St Mary's Church, Stoke Newington, in aid of a great local cause.

Hackney residents and stars of stage and screen Selina Cadell, Paul Bradley, Paul Jesson, Carrie Quinlan, Maggie Steed, Michael Thomas, Jane Wymark and The Occasional Choir are stepping forward into the spotlight to help save the beautiful, 400-year-old church from closure.

All proceeds from their performance – an evening of festive readings and song called Money for Old Prose – will go towards the fundraising effort to transform Old St Mary's into a vibrant arts centre for the whole community.
This is the fourth year that the group has joined together at Christmas in support of the project, St Mary's Arts Centre for the Community. Actors Selina Cadell and Michael Thomas say:

'It is such a pleasure to perform in the old church. For an actor it has a warm acoustic, and the audience sit like friends in a front room. And a tiny church like this, in the middle of a busy city, feels like a stolen treasure. When the great new church was built for an exploding population, this quiet old church next to it could have been demolished. But it wasn't, and it stands for all demolished buildings; the one that got away.'

Fundraiser Sarah Robson says:
'We are thrilled that Selina, Michael and the whole troupe are coming back for what promises to be another wonderfully entertaining evening, and for helping to raise funds for the work needed to save and transform the church. As well as being a gem of a theatre for our community, Old St Mary's could become a place to bring our children for art classes, an affordable venue for our teenagers' first gigs, a space to book for a special occasion and a treasure trove of history for pupils to explore.'

Tickets for this very special event are £12 / £10 concessions and are available on the door. To reserve a ticket email artsmanager@smartn16.org