A Very Untraditional Christmas – Finding Fun Beyond the Festive

As we're all too aware, Christmas is a busy time for theatre! Pantos, Christmas Carol re-writes and Nutcrackers a-plenty. 

But more venues are starting to programme non-festive shows and Christmas alternatives to cut through the tinsel. 

We spoke to Omnibus Theatre, The Old Fire Station, Park and What's On Stage about their choices to steer clear of festive fun in their Christmas programming.

Marie McCarthy, Artistic Director - Omnibus

We treat December as an opportunity to offer audiences something a little unexpected, with programming tailored to distinct age groups and curated as a mix of several different alternative festive shows rather than a single play or pantomime. We also use the flexibility of all three performances spaces to shape different types of work to the scale and character of each - from intimate and immersive to larger scale. 

For our youngest theatregoers: 3 - 7-year-olds maybe seeing live performance for the very first time, we programme gentle, small-scale puppetry such as Oldilocks and the Three Bears, a great introduction to theatre without being overwhelming. Alongside this, we lean into the idea of gathering around a “fireside” for a ghost story, as with this year’s adult offering The Highgate Vampire, designed for an alternative to the more conventional festive offer. An evening of contemporary Christmas poetry and a live-drawing reimagining, inspired by the seasonal classic The Many Faces of Eve add to our Omnibus Theatre mix.
 

Jez Bond, Founder and Artistic Director - Park

"There’s so much on offer during the festive season and in London you can have your pick of pantos and traditional Christmas shows. At Park Theatre we like to celebrate the season by providing our audiences with pure entertainment that can be enjoyed by anyone no matter their creed. This year the classic Dracula story – which has a rather wintery feel – gets a complete twist in Dracapella. And best of all it’s so completely unique – and not like anything else you can see on stage this festive season!” 
 

Alex Wood, Editor in Chief - WOS

The festive period isn't all about panto and lashings of goodwill. It can also be an incredible time for new writing and up-and-coming playwrights, when audiences are looking to be immersed from the cold with a brand new, riveting story, regardless of whether it's an uplifting one, a harrowing one, or something in between. Even a tale like A Christmas Carol taps into the darker side of humanity and the selfishness that ripples through society. 

I'll never forget last year's devastating production of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 at the Donmar Warehouse, which felt worlds away from the glittering Christmas lights that had been plastered over Seven Dials. 

The festive period is an ideal opportunity for escape, and escape doesn't mean simply in finding joy, spending time with family or devouring an entire box of Ferrero Rocher, but can also mean discovering new worlds, new voices and bold plays that push at the frontiers of what audiences want to see on stages. 

Clara Vaughan, CEO - Old Fire Station

There's a really dominant narrative about Christmas at this time of year, pretty much everywhere you go, that sometimes gives the impression that everyone experiences it the same way. But for many people, Christmas is actually quite complicated and difficult - and for others, it's not a date of much relevance. It's one of the busiest times of year for our partners in our building, Crisis, who support people experiencing homelessness. That's why we think it's important to programme shows that offer a broader and more diverse representation of this season than what is generally represented - so that audiences have a chance to see themselves in stories that capture the nuance and complexity of this time of year, while also having a really warm and life affirming experience in a building where everyone is welcome.

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