Star spotting has long been on the menu at Richard Caring’s Covent Garden celebrity magnet J Sheekey. However throughout 2018 you can meet and greet a series of stars of stage and screen at this West End institution as the restaurant launches ‘Sheekey Secrets’: a series of exclusive and informal ‘in conversation’ evenings, with a prestigious line-up of theatre luminaries. The celebrated guests will include actors from theatre and movies, ranging from Hollywood legends to the West End’s established, and rising, stars. The first three talents to open the programme are Leslie Caron, Ben Forster, and Jemma Redgrave, and will be hosted by journalist and writer, Tim Wapshott.
‘Sheekey Secrets’ invites stars of stage and screen to speak at an intimate series of ticketed dinner events for the public, as part of a series of guest evenings from January to October. Set within J Sheekey’s timeless, iconic space, guests will have the opportunity to hear West End stars spill secrets about the highs and lows of their lives and careers on one night only.
To follow, questions will be opened up to the floor, before resident executive chef, Andy McLay, serves a special three course menu. The evening’s guest will also be invited to stay for dinner, giving diners a rare chance to meet and greet the stars.
Monday 29 January 2018, Leslie Caron: Franco-American actress and dancer. BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Caron was discovered by acting legend, Gene Kelly, and appeared alongside him in the Oscar-winning ‘An American In Paris’. She has gone on to have a long and formidable career, most famously playing the lead in ‘Gigi’, and winning a number of Lifetime Achievement awards for her contributions to both film and dance.
Monday 19 February 2018, Ben Forster: Ben Forster shot to fame when he won ITV’s hit ‘Superstar’ series – Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2012 talent search for an actor to play the title role in the rock arena tour of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’. He quickly rose to become something of a West End fixture – appearing in ‘Grease’, Lennon and McCartney’s ‘All You Need is Love’ and ‘Thriller Live’. He was also a memorable Brad Majors in several sell-out productions of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ and Magaldi in ‘Evita’ at the Dominion Theatre. In 2016 he played the title role in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ where he continued to perform throughout the show’s 30th Year Anniversary and scooped a coveted Olivier Award into the bargain. He is imminently reprising his role as Buddy in ‘Elf the Musical’.
Monday 12 March 2018, Jemma Redgrave: English theatre and television actress. Jemma is third-generation of the renowned Redgrave family acting dynasty, and boasts an illustrious career with roles in Anton Chekhov’s ‘The Three Sisters’ in London’s West End, and – on the screen – BBC’s long-running ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Holby City’. The second instalment of three further stars will follow.
Tickets cost £100 per person, and will include a glass of Perrier-Jouët Blancs de Blancs NV on arrival, half a bottle of wine, a three course menu, and water, tea or coffee. For more information visit www.j-sheekey.co.uk/sheekey-secrets. To reserve tickets, please contact Helen Geach at hgeach@caprice-holdings.co.uk or call 020 3319 2144.
