IN THIS Christmas like no other, festive shows are in short supply. And with millions of us being asked to stay at home as a result of the new Tier 4 restrictions, new entertainment is much needed.
Santa’s Christmas Rescue is one such show. It’s been created by Imagine Theatre, the team who produce The Hexagon’s annual pantomime and can be streamed on the internet across the holiday season.
Aimed at under sevens – and those young at heart – it’s 35 minutes of fun, songs and festive joy that we all need this year. And the £5 fee allows unlimited streaming over the Christmas period, perfect for parents needing a break from endless showings of Frozen.
It’s been devised by and stars Iain Lauchlan, who was the Music Man in Fingermouse and created The Tweenies. He has written several Imagine pantos – he knows what he’s doing to devise shows that engage his target audience.
He says that the show came out of a desire to entertain some of the 425,000 people that would normally see one of Imagine’s pantos at Christmas.
“Although the Santa shows have been around for a few years in live versions we knew we needed to do something a little different this year if we still wanted to bring some Christmas magic to children across the country and so we decided to do a filmed version of Santa’s Christmas Rescue.”
“The show has been specially written to appeal to children aged seven and under with colourful characters, an adorable puppet Rudolph that they are sure to fall in love with, and lots of popular songs that they will know and adore and be invited to join in with.”
Set in Santa’s workshop, it tells how elves Ellie (Johanna Johnston) and Izzy (Jenny Phillips) – plus Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer – need to find Santa, who has got stuck in the snow. When they do find him, they need to help him recover from the shock so all the good boys and girls can get the presents of Christmas morning.
It’s a simple story, well-told. Woven between the saving of Santa, there’s a mixture of familiar songs and nursery rhymes, plus a good helping of audience interaction to ensure that viewers are engaged throughout. With actions and interactivity there is plenty for every child to enjoy.
With no bangs and flashes, it is fairly gentle so a perfect introduction to live theatre, even though it’s a home showing.
It packs a lot into the 35-minutes and is professionally produced. With the theatre brought to your living room, it’s the next best thing to being in the theatre and will delight youngsters anxiously counting down the days to Christmas … and provide some comfort and joy in these strange times.
The show can be watched via the Showcatcher app – https://showcatcher.com/show/31/santas-christmas-rescue
And there’s colouring-in sheets to download from What’s On Reading which Santa would love to see.
Tickets cost £5 for unlimited streams before Sunday, January 3, 2021. There is also an opportunity to make a £2.50 donation to the theatrical charity Acting For Others.
