Stars turn out for charity theatre performance

Stars of the stage and screen were in Exeter last night to support the Northcott Theatre in its biggest ever fundraising effort.

In a unique charity command performance, the audience were treated to a set of readings and renditions by stars determined to support regional Theatre.

Among them, award-winning author Dame Hilary Mantel read from her new book, while actors Imogen Stubbs and Jonathan Guy Lewis performed two play extracts by Harold Pinter and Noel Coward.

Trustees of the theatre say it's making a fresh start after facing closure in 2009. Money raised from the event will go towards the theatre’s Encore fund.

Actor Joss Ackland, who read a piece from ‘A Christmas Carol’, says it’s vital that regional theatre survives for another generation: