Jenny Shelton rounds up the best festive theatre coming up in Cambridge this holiday season
Jack and the Beanstalk
Swap your prize cow for tickets to the Mumford Theatre’s family panto, taking place for three nights only on 18, 19 and 20 December. Jack lives a quiet, humble life with his somewhat eccentric mother, Mrs Lumpkin, but when he comes into possession of some magic beans, adventure beckons. Join in this giant adventure, boo the villain and cheer our young hero as good triumphs over evil. Hurrah! Tickets are £7.50; check online for times and booking information.
Snow White & Rose Red
Cambridge Junction’s Christmas show sees two daring, mischievous sisters set out on an adventure across a wintry wilderness. No, it’s not Frozen (everyone’s over that by now, surely?), but Snow White and Rose Red, created by award-winning theatre company RashDash. This enchanting tale is based on the Brothers Grimm’s original story of two girls who befriend a bear and rescue a dwarf with a magical beard. (Don’t worry if you don’t recognise it from the Disney version – that was based on a completely different Brothers Grimm fairytale!)
Helen Goalen of RashDash, who went to school at Swavesey Village College and Hills Road Sixth Form College, tells us more: “We want it to be a really fun, festive family day out. It’s going to have lots of great songs, live music and should be a great visual spectacle. It should take people on a real adventure. “Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was taken from a completely different story,” she explains. “In the original Snow White and Rose Red, two sisters meet a bear and keep bumping into this little old man with a beard which keeps getting stuck in things. But there’s not much more to it than that, so we’ve turned it into a big adventure story for the girls. There are magic spells, lots of great characters and a big battle at the end.”
As well as creating the show with RashDash co-founder Abbi Greenland, Helen will be on stage as Snow White.
She says: “We always have very strong female characters at the centre of our shows. Rose Red is streetwise and a bit of a tomboy, whereas Snow White is more dreamy and always getting lost in her own head. But they both love stories and adventure.
“I’m really excited about it. We’ve never made a show with Cambridge Junction before but we’ve toured there a few times. It’s a show for five- to 105-year-olds – though 106-year-olds are very welcome! The humour works on lots of different levels, and it should be a nice alternative to a panto.”
See it 8-31 December, Cambridge Junction; tickets £15 (£10 concessions). Check online for times.
Read our review here!
Cinderella
Aussie actress Suzie Mathers gets her first taste of panto culture in the title role of Cinderella
For Suzie Mathers, star of this year’s Arts Theatre pantomime, Christmas is normally a time for lounging by the pool over a barbecue breakfast – blokes in dresses and heavily made-up villains (boo! hiss!) are thin on the ground. This year will be different however, as the Aussie actress (pictured above centre) gets her first taste of panto culture in the title role of Cinderella.
“I’m super excited about doing the panto, and Cinderella is THE one you want to do,” she enthuses. “I grew up in Australia where we don’t have the big panto culture – so I’d never heard of Buttons – but I’m really looking forward to immersing myself in it.”
Panto must seem pretty bizarre to an outsider, does it?
“It’s very different! It is mad, but really great how the audience can have the run of the show. No two performances are the same, the audience brings their own energy and you get different reactions, and panto has that flexibility to change which makes it really exciting.”
Suzie comes to us after playing Glinda in the Australasian production of Wicked.
“It seems like a good transition to be playing Cinderella after Glinda,” she laughs. “To play that role so early in my career was a dream come true. It’s a wonderful show with wonderful music. I know it’s really clichéd, but Popular was my favourite song to do! I always had a blast with that.”
Talking about Christmas down under, she says: “It’s very different. On Christmas Day we start with a seafood barbecue, then a roast with all the trimmings later in the afternoon, then usually cocktails by the pool or on the beach. In Perth, where I’m from, it can be anywhere between 35 and 42°. I was with family in Aberdeen last year which was my first cold Christmas. The fact that I could wear a Christmas jumper at Christmas was such a novelty for me!”
She adds: “I’m so excited to be coming to Cambridge this Christmas. The minute I arrived I fell in love with the place: it’s like a fairytale land. I’ll be staying right opposite King’s College, so I’ll be right in the heart of it. I really hope it snows, that would be a dream come true! I’m keeping my fingers crossed!”
Cinderella at Cambridge Arts Theatre runs 3 December until 17 January 2016. See their website for times and ticket prices.
Read our review here!
Horrible Christmas
How did the Tudors celebrate Christmas? What would Oliver Cromwell – not a fan of jolly feasting and parties – have to say about Slade and Wizzard? And who was Good King Wenceslas? Not a king, for starters…
Described as an ‘action-packed festive adventure that’s a romp from start to finish’ (Derby Telegraph), this raucous live show comes from the brilliant Birmingham Stage Company and features all the comedy of their Horrible Histories shows, with added Yuletide spirit. Join characters including Henry VIII, Charles Dickens, a rapping Charles II, Santa himself and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for a lavishly-staged, fast-paced Christmas show for all the family, featuring madcap action, contemporary nods (Doctor Who gets a mention), and silly songs and sketches.
Horrible Histories is on stage the Corn Exchange from 14 December until 9 January. Tickets are £22.50 (£17 children) or £55 for a family ticket (two adults, two kids).
