For a real family treat this Christmas, choose the stage adaptation of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas at Waterside Arts Centre… It is truly magical!
“MAGICAL! 9/10”
This charming and intimate festive show, is especially perfect for introducing younger children to the theatre.
SANTA’S BIG DAY
The production brings the classic Raymond Briggs book to life. This isn’t your usual jolly, “ho-ho-ho” Santa; the character is famously grumpy, but completely lovable.
ANOTHER BLOOMIN’ CHRISTMAS
You follow him through his day as he prepares for his absolute busiest night of the year: Christmas Eve. Seeing the real, domesticated side of Father Christmas; he wakes up, grumbling about the “bloomin’ cold,” and goes about his routine. This includes feeding his cheeky pets (Cat and Dog) and two reindeer, all brought to life through wonderful puppetry.
THE JOURNEY
You then watch him reluctantly get into his iconic red suit and take off on his worldwide delivery route. The staging is clever, using set design to transform his house walls into snowy rooftops and chimneys, and often includes a great moment of sleigh “flight” with dramatic lighting, dry ice, and snow that makes the audience gasp.
DELIGHTFULLY BRITISH
The whole show is a masterclass in cosy, British charm. It stays extremely faithful to Briggs’ original illustrations and sense of humour, including the iconic use of “bloomin’ this” and “bloomin’ that”. There’s also usually a brilliant musician on stage who creates all the sound effects (like sizzling bacon, a kettle whistling, and the clip-clop of the reindeer) live, which adds a really fun, quirky element to the performance.
PERFECT FOR A YOUNG CROWD
It runs at a perfect length—around 50 to 55 minutes with no interval—making it ideal for children aged 3 and up.
In short, it’s a gentle, humorous, and truly magical experience that provides a nostalgic, warm hug of a show for the whole family.
9/10
https://watersidearts.org/events/raymond-briggs-father-christmas/