Being Normal Isn’t Normal!
Get Santa!
Newcastle Northern Stage
Until
Saturday 27th December 2014.
Poor
ten year old Holly doesn’t want presents for Christmas, so she writes to Santa
to tell him. All that she wants is to see her real Dad, the one who gave her a
big teddy bear to look after. She has been really good all year, unlike the lad
at school who flooded the toilets. Holly also wants to meet Santa so she
hatches a plan.
Northern
Stage don’t put on a traditional pantomime at Christmas, rather, they put on a
couple of plays for children, and this year Get
Santa is for the over 7s. whilst there is no shriek of “It’s behind you”
and rapid puns, there is still a healthy mixture of laughs, slapstick and music
to keep the young entertained. Director Lorne Campbell has done a cracking job
of producing a play which had the full house smiling.
Tessa
Parr is immediately engaging with the audience, as the young Holly, and shares
a number of the early chuckles with Gary Kitching, who plays her step Dad.
Anthony Neilson and Nick Powell set up a less than conventional story as
Holly’s step Dad is a dog who thinks it is normal to decorate a tree with meat
and sausages. Her Gran, played by Jane Holman, tries to explain
that no family is normal before breaking into song about how she doesn’t care
what people say. Not batting an eyelid throughout the show is Paula Penman as
Holly’s Mum.
The
set design is a cross between a living room and an advent calendar. This gives
a number of handy windows for the chorus, dressed up as snowmen, to appear. The
snowmen may have resembled the Canadians in the South Park Movie but they added
a seasonal feel to the show when they appeared.
When
Christmas comes Santa (James Ryland), his son Bumblehole (Tom Walton) and her
favourite Teddy (Scott Turnbull) get involved as the plot twists and turns. The
children in the audience were captivated as the narrative unfolded. The cliff
hanger at the interval was a nice touch. The music from Aly Macrae fits in
nicely with the tempo of the show.
Northern
Stage have a Christmas show that they can be proud which leaves the audience,
both young and old, feeling happy and in the Christmas spirit. Tessa is
wonderful as the young naïve Holly and there is no weak link in the rest of the
cast. Perhaps a bigger role could have been given to Gary Kitching with his
natural comic timing but that is a minor quibble.
This
is a warm, friendly Christmas show which shows everyone that weird is normal
and left the audience grinning.
This
review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR
(www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen
@panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo.
Tickets:
Get Santa! Mon 1 – Sat 27 Dec
Tickets:
£24 / £19.50 / £14.50, under 21s £12
Special Deals:
Families: Family of 4 - £60 for selected performances (see website)
Multibuy: Buy at the same time as other shows to recieve a discount - see multibuy website
Special Deals:
Families: Family of 4 - £60 for selected performances (see website)
Multibuy: Buy at the same time as other shows to recieve a discount - see multibuy website
A
jolly Christmas play full of songs, slapstick, puppetry and fun for children aged
7 and over and their families.
Box
Office: 0191 230 5151
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