Chickenshed hosts 'spectacular' 35th birthday party at Royal Albert Hall (From Enfield Independent)

Chickenshed hosts 'spectacular' 35th birthday party at Royal Albert Hall

11:13am Tuesday 24th November 2009

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DOZENS of A-list celebrities celebrated the 35th birthday party of an all-inclusive theatre group from Southgate last Tuesday.

Around 2,300 guests joined Joanna Lumley, Victoria Wood, Cherie Blair, Maria Friedman, Bob Hoskins and other red carpet stars at Chickenshed's Grand Gala at the Royal Albert Hall - the biggest event ever held by the company.

Mrs Lumley, best known for her role in Absolutely Fabulous and her tireless campaigning for British Gurkhas, was guest of honour and made a moving speech about the theatre company's work.

Later, 500 members of Chickenshed put on a cabaret performance for guests to accompany a three-course champagne dinner.

Susan Jamson, spokeswoman for Chickenshed, was delighted with the event. She said: "It was an absolutely huge success. The place was packed and the atmosphere was electric.

"We had 500 members on stage who had never performed to that many people before, and everyone stood and clapped for about five minutes afterwards. It was quite remarkable.

"Joanna Lumley was hilarious, an absolutely wonderful guest of honour, and Victoria Wood was a fantastic host.

"It was quite spectacular having so many people come to support us after 35 years."

The entertainment also included a "money can't buy" auction conducted by Lord Harry Dalmeny from Sotheby's, which included holidays, backstage passes and tickets to West End Broadway productions among its prizes.

One of the top prizes was a training session with the England rugby team, accompanied by 24 friends.

Organisers are yet to tally up the total money raised, but hope to have made more than £750,000 from the event.

Chickenshed opens its doors to everyone, regardless of background, age, race or ability. It needs £3 million every year to maintain current funding levels.

The group is based at Rayne Theatre, in Chase Side, Southgate. For more information, visit www.chickenshed.org.uk

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