THERE was a sprinkle of stardust in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre as celebrities turned out to read at the annual Spirit of Christmas concert.
Hundreds attended the fundraiser on Wednesday night to support the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign (MDC), including comic Harry Enfield, Dominic West and Adrian Scarborough.
They were joined by actors Tobias Menzies, Jan Harvey, Oliver Milburn, Newsnight correspondent Katie Razzall, Karen Lewis-Attenborough and London Voices soloist Elizabeth Drury.
The evening also featured an impressive performance by pupils of The Dragon School Choir and was supported by our sister paper, The Oxford Times.
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Buckinghamshire resident Mr Enfield, who read a comedy piece about making fruit cake, said: “They persuaded me to do it with a bribe of mulled wine, but I had a really good time. I tried to pick a reading that was nice and short.
“My main thing in life is always to be as lazy as possible and it usually pays off.
“It was also interesting to hear about the campaign’s work and Katie Razzall [who gave an address] was very articulate.
“I have performed the whiskey recipe piece once before and decided to do it again because it usually goes down very well.”
The 53-year-old added that he and comedy partner of 25 years Paul Whitehouse could reunite next year for more of their critically-acclaimed show Harry and Paul: “We are both very lazy, but if we are both still alive next year we will give it a go.”
Over the course of the evening, Dragon School pupils, dressed in their uniforms, sang carols.
Elizabeth Drury, the London solist, sang Walking in the Air, The Little Road to Bethlehem and O Holy Night.
The evening was also partly dedicated to the MDC’s late president, Lord Richard Attenborough, who died in August aged 90.
It was confirmed yesterday that the MDC had raised at least £16,000 from the evening, already smashing last year’s total of £15,000.
And Adrian Scarborough, 46, known for his roles in The King’s Speech (2010), Gavin & Stacey and Upstairs Downstairs, read Reginald’s Christmas Revel by H H Munro (pen name, Saki).
The Berkhamsted-based actor told the Oxford Mail afterwards: “I did something two years ago for [MDC vice-president] Sarah Kelly in Chester and had such a wonderful time that I decided to do it again.”
From top, Tobias Menzies, Karen Lewis, Adrian Scarborough and Dominic West; the Dragon School Choir; Katie Razzall; inside the Sheldonian Theatre; Jan Harvey
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