Catholic Association of Performing Arts

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The British Catholic Stage Guild, the main organisation for Catholics in British entertainment, was founded in 1911. It was founded by former Anglican priest Mgr Robert Hugh Benson.^[2] The aim of the Guild, as laid out in the 1931 Year Book, was "to establish and encourage spiritual, artistic and social intercourse among Catholics connected with the theatrical and allied professions". The Guild was renamed in 2009 and is now known as the Catholic Association of Performing Arts (CaAPA).^[3][4] The Guild is closely associated with Corpus Christi Church, Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden area.

Current membership includes such noted performers as Valerie Masterson and Simon Callow, as well as numerous less well-known performers, such as actor Martin O'Brien, who co-founded ACTS (Association of Catholics in Theatre and on Screen) in 2005, and is the current Artistic Director of the CaAPA-affiliated Ten Ten Theatre.

Deceased former members of the Guild include actors Sir Alec Guinness (a former Vice-President of the Guild), Patricia Hayes (who was a former Chair of the Guild, as was her son, actor Richard O'Callaghan), Danny La Rue, Michael Williams (a former Chair), Margaretta Scott, Moira Lister, Eamonn Andrews (a former Chair), Lionel Jeffries (a former Chair) and Frank Finlay. Guinness and Jeffries were both converts. Member Vince Powell was a noted television writer and producer. Last of the Summer Wine star Joe Gladwin was Northern representative before his death.^[5]