A "stellar group" of acting and musical talent are joining forces with artistic pupils to help fundraise for the restoration of an iconic brutalist school hall into a community arts centre for all.
The Hall for All project has been set up to revamp the building in Acland Burghley School, in Tufnell Park, with the hope of securing more than £1.8 million in funding by this autumn.
Famous faces Tracy-Ann Oberman (EastEnders, The Merchant of Venice), Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Adam James (Mr Bates vs the Post Office), Claire Skinner (Outnumbered), Tom Basden (Plebs) and Shaun Dingwall (Top Boy) will debut original works by pupils at the Burghley Road secondary school at a special event on April 25 from 7pm to 9.30pm.
Budding musicians will share the stage with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Amidon.
Nicholas John, headteacher of Acland Burghley, said: “We have managed to get together a stellar group of well-known actors, most of them from north London, who believe in our vision to turn our hall back to what it was always intended to be: a top performance space not just for our students but for the whole, wider community."
Sacha Skarbek, who co-wrote international hit singles Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus) and James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful, will reveal the secrets of his multi-award-winning creative process.
Host and compere, comedian Joe Bor will keep the laughs coming with BAFTA-winning Sky Kids presenter Jeriah.
The performances are part of a huge fundraising effort to restore the Grade II listed hall into a community arts and education centre.
Created during the brutalist period of architecture in 1964 by architects Howell, Killick, Partridge and Amis, the hexagonal hall was designed to reflect both the architectural excellence and social values of the time.
As well as a performance venue, the hall will also serve as the UK’s first Museum of Brutalist Architecture (MoBA), raising awareness of the building's heritage, record people’s experience of it, and show how brutalism - with its principles of inclusiveness and community - impacted on post-war education.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has pledged cash towards the restoration but more needs to be found.
The venue is already used by the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment, a period instrument orchestra.
Its chief executive Crispin Woodhead added: “The Hall for All is a bold, uncompromising statement that the children and the community are worth it.
“Rather than taking them to places where they can only be visitors and guests, this is a centre of their own - somewhere wonderful they call home, that makes them proud and helps them aspire to greater things.”
Tickets are £12. Visit https://HallforAllStars.eventbrite.co.uk
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