Crazy Kid Carpet opens in Bristol with his own version of the Nativity as Harry Mottram looks forward to the Christmas season with his list of goodies
It’s Christmas! (Well nearly.) Which means there’s loads of stuff on including the return of Kid Carpet (Ed Patrick) with his new show Noisy Nativity at the Tobacco Factory in Bristol.
The slightly crazy Bristolian musician, playwright and actor has produced and performed a number shows for younger families etched with a radical remix of big beat songs, live special effects, puppetry and animation. Prepare for a wonky take on the Nativity when his animal friends take on the all the traditional roles including the infant Jesus played by an hedgehog.
The show runs in the Spielman Theatre at the Southville venue from December 4 to January 5, 2020.
In the main space at the Tobacco Factory is a production of Snow White, while across the river at Bristol Old Vic the seasonal show is A Christmas Carol.
Closer to home at the Axbridge Roxy Cinema there’s the European Film Club on Tuesday, December 3, with a screening of Diarios de Motocicleta based on Che Guevara’s 1952 motorcycle road trip through South America.
The community cinema also screens on Friday, December 6 Tolkien and on December 12-13, Rocketman – the authorised version of Elton John’s rise to flashy fame in the 1970s. Enough glitter to qualify as the Roxy Christmas special.
Over in Bath at the Theatre Royal in the egg is Rapunzel, the theatre’s Christmas show written by Annie Siddons and directed by Nik Partridge (December 6 – January 12).
The story of an orphaned baby rescued by an eccentric herbalist who raises her as her own. However, this act of love comes with a price. When Rapunzel blossoms into an independent young woman, her mother confines her to a tower to protect her from the prying eyes of the world.
The egg is my favourite theatre space in the region and the theatre’s Christmas play is always creative and inventive. There are also two dramas for pre-school children in December and January with The Snow Mouse and Squirrel.
Meanwhile the Taunton Brewhouse theatre is staging The Railway Children (December 9-30) from the original 1905 novel by Edith Nesbit
Pantomime
Weston-super-Mare’s Playhouse features Cinderella in a traditional pantomime starring Linda Lusardi (December 7-31) and Bath Theatre Royal stages Beauty and Beast in the main house (December 12-January 12).
Steve Bennet is back in panto with Beauty and the Beast at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre (November 30 – January 5). He has been a fixture in the city’s pantomime scene on and off for years and is always good value. When the theatre decided to drop pantos he appeared at The Bicycle Shed leaving the Northcott to forsake the popular panto tradition and to take a financial hit.
The Bristol Hippodrome is staging Dick Whittington with Shane Richie from December 7 to January 5.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is being stage at the Octagon Theatre, in Yeovil, (6 Dec-5 Jan), and Aladdin is at the Kingswood School Theatre, Lansdown Road, Bath (18-22 Dec).
All of these pantomimes are big productions with all the elements you would hope for with ticket prices to match.
If you’ve never been then make an effort and get in the spirit as they are part of the Great British theatrical tradition.
For more visit www.harrymottram.co.uk
Follow Harry on twitter as @harrythespiv also on FaceBook, LinkedIn, YouTube and on Instagram
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