Royal Festival Hall,
London Chrissie Hynde, Neil Tennant and Sophie Ellis-Bextor joyously topped up the Wainwright siblings’ big-hearted
Christmas fundraiser, A Not So Silent Night
Christmas with the extended family can be an ordeal. After too many days in close proximity to rarely encountered aunts or cousins, the Yuletide season’s compulsory mood of forced jollity can switch to listless ennui or murderous rage.
Despite this, the Wainwright family’s festive musical shindig, usually held in
Canada or
New York, is quite a tradition. Rufus and Martha last threw a Christmas party in London 10 years ago, six weeks before the death from cancer of their folk-icon mother, Kate McGarrigle. To mark the anniversary, this show is a benefit to raise funds to provide music-therapy resources for cancer patients.