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A London Christmas 2008: Shows & Pantos
 
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Christmas panto is often children's first experience of the wonderful world of theatre; it's colourful and camp, there's usually a princess for the girls and a baddie for the boys and, whatever the occasion, it's exciting going out after dark when you're knee-high, especially with all the twinkling fairy lights around town. It's a grand old British tradition to round up the whole rabble and traipse off to a show at Christmas time - from curtain-up to standing ovation, we love all the boo-ing banter, screams of 'He's behind you!' and slapstick comedy of the pantomime Dame and hopeless horse. But it's not all tomfoolery and frolicking - there are some truly magical and awe-inspiring shows on London's theatre scene this Christmas that will captivate audiences of all ages. For those among us who really can't cope with the ''oohs" and "aahs" of panto pandemonium, the winter seasons at the Royal Opera House and Coliseum promise to capture a beautiful, cultured Christmas.
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A London Christmas 2008: Related Articles Sugar and Spice | Hotel Hideaways | Food and Flower Markets | Traditional Toys | Ice Skating | Festive Fairs | Shows and Pantos | Christmas Lights | Tinsel and Trimmings | Christmas Day and Boxing Day | Carols and Services | Butchers and Fishmongers | Greengrocers and Delicatessens   Amazonia
Young Vic (Maria Studio), SE18NB 27th November 2008 - 23rd January 2009 Following up the success of their 'Festa!' street festival, the Young Vic have commissioned a Christmas show from the same Brazilian team. In any other theatre, this tale of magical Amazon spirits would be the kind of right-on rubbish that gives publicly funded theatre a bad name, but the Young Vic has a rare talent for modern fairytales, and a great ability to get local communities involved. Last year's South African Christmas show was infectiously brilliant - and went onto a West End run - and we're expecting great things from Amazonia. Venue: Young Vic Address: 66 The Cut, SE1 8LZ Phone: 020 7928 6363 Date: 27th November 2008 - 23rd January 2009 Time: Mon to Sat 7.30pm, matinees Wed & Sat 2.30pm Pricing: £22.50, £10 (Under 26s), £15 (Previews) Nearest Station: Waterloo Tube/Rail Amazonia - Information  Cinderella
The Lyric Hammersmith, W6 0QL 28th November 2008 - 3rd January 2009 Melly Still, the director of Coram Boy and Watership Down, takes Cinderella away from technicolour pantomime and back to the snow-covered Northern European fantasy of the original Brothers Grimm story. It's all about the atmosphere at the Lyric Hammersmith's Christmas shows. The music will be played on instruments made from arctic birch and glacial ice, and they plan to turn the whole theatre into a glittering fairytale winter landscape - just the sort of place where a young prince might come searching for the mysterious young woman who fled on the stroke of midnight. Venue: The Lyric Hammersmith Address: King Street, W6 0QL Phone: 08700 500 511 Date: 28th November 2008 - 3rd January 2009 Time: 7pm 28 Nov, 03, 12, 18, 19 & 29 Dec | 7pm & 2pm 29 Nov, 06, 13, 20, 22, 23, 27 & 30 Dec, 02 & 03 Jan | 10am & 1.30pm 02, 08, 10, 11, 15 & 17 Dec Pricing: £10-£27 (Adults), £10 (Concs) Nearest Station: Hammersmith Tube Cinderella - Information  Sleeping Beauty
The Unicorn Theatre for Children: Clore Theatre, SE1 2HZ 2nd December 2008 - 24th January 2009 Sleeping Beauty has never been the most inspiring heroine in children's literature, but the Unicorn Theatre for Children are promising us someone a bit more proactive than usual, as Beauty races through a hundred years of history in a bid to find the kiss that can break the spell. The show comes from the same madly inventive team who made great previous Christmas shows like Duck! and continues the Unicorn's tradition of finding new ways to tell the old stories, keeping them fresh, funny and funky. Venue: The Unicorn Theatre for Children: Clore Theatre Address: 147 Tooley Street, More London, Southwark, SE1 2HZ Phone: 020 7645 0560 Date: 2nd December 2008 - 24th January 2009 Time: Wed to Fri 10.30am & 1.30pm, Sat & Sun 2pm Pricing: £18 (Adults), £12 (Children & Concs), £7.50 (School Groups) Nearest Station: London Bridge Tube/Rail Sleeping Beauty - Information  Oliver!
Theatre Royal, WC2B 5JF 12th December 2008 - 19th July 2009 Lionel Bart's smashing Victorian musical has had two previous London productions which both ran for over 100 performances, but there's every chance that this new version will be the best Oliver! ever. It's based on the Matthew Bourne-choreographed 1990s production, and there will be over a hundred performers and musicians, so the big set-piece songs which everyone remembers from the film (Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, You've Got to Pick-a-Pocket or Two) will be great fun. Director Rupert Goold won the Olivier Award for Best Director, after a string of brilliantly atmospheric shows for the RSC, and is just the man to recreate Victorian London on the vast stage of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Best of all is the chance to see Rowan Atkinson returning to his anti-hero roots, playing the master pickpocket Fagin. Venue: Theatre Royal Address: Drury Lane, WC2B 5JF Phone: 020 7437 4370 Date: 12th December 2008 - 19th July 2009 Time: Previews from 12 Dec, opens 14 Jan | Mon to Sat 7.30pm, matinees Tue and Sat 2.30pm Pricing: £17.50 - £60 Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube Oliver! - Information  Hansel and Gretel
Barbican Theatre, EC2Y 8DS 1st December 2008 - 4th January 2009 This innovative version of Hansel and Gretel finds the audience walking alongside the children as they head ever deeper into the dark forest, at whose heart a delicious cottage hides dark secrets. The Barbican usually do their own Christmas shows, but there was clearly something about Catherine Wheels Theatre Company's promenade performance that was too exciting for them to pass up: it's certainly a building designed to get lost in, so Hansel and Gretel's confusion in the forest should be matched by the audience as they follow the lost children through the Barbican's winding corridors. Venue: Barbican Theatre Address: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS Phone: 0845 120 7550 Date: 1st December 2008 - 4th January 2009 Time: Various. Check website: www.barbican.org.uk Pricing: £10 children, £18 adults Nearest Station: Barbican Tube Hansel and Gretel - Information  Hansel and Gretel
Royal Opera House, WC2E 9DD 9th December 2008 - 1st January 2009 Humperdinck's 'Hansel and Gretel' is a fantastic fairy-tale romp, full of interest for adults and children alike. You know the story... take one evil stepmother and a weak-willed father, throw in a forest full of abandoned children, add a gingerbread cottage owned by scary (hungry) witch, mix in a bungled attempt at culinary infanticide and top it all with a happy ending. Humperdinck's rousing Wagnerian folk tunes made this a massive success when it was premiered, and this brand new production, directed by Royal Opera House stalwarts, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, promises to add a dash of dark comedy to the mix. A seasonal delight for all the family. Venue: Royal Opera House Address: Bow Street, WC2E 9DD Phone: 020 7304 4000 Date: 9th December 2008 - 1st January 2009 Time: 7.30pm Tue 9th, Thu 11th, Fri 12th, 6.30pm Sun 14th, 7.30pm Tue 16th, Thu 18th, Sun 21st, Sun 28th, 1pm Mon 29th, 6pm Tue 30th Dec 2008, 6pm Thu 1st Jan 2009. Pricing: Various Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube Hansel and Gretel - Information  The Nutcracker
The Coliseum, WC2N 4ES 17th December 2008 - 30th December 2008 Like unwrapping a Christmas present or wandering through a dream, The Nutcracker has all the wide-eyed suspense of something unexpected about to happen. Senses are heightened by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe's storybook sets and, as the dancers start to twist and turn through the pages of this pop-up production, fact and fiction melt together. The much-loved tale of little Clara's adventures as she witnesses the growing Christmas tree, travels to the Land of Snow and comes to face-to-face with the Sugar Plum Fairy is given a fresh perspective by some theatrical gems. Snowflakes do sprightly leaps out of a giant fridge, the mice burst onto stage with machine guns and gas masks to do battle and the 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy' lives up to Tchaikovsky's twinkling score. Children and the young at heart will just love the magic and sparkle of this Christmas production. Book early to avoid disappointment as this 'Nutcracker' is twirling towards its final curtain in December, having been a feature of the London festive season for seven years. Venue: The Coliseum Address: St. Martin's Lane, WC2N 4ES Phone: 08719 110200 Date: 17th December 2008 - 30th December 2008 Time: Performances 2.30pm and 7.30pm | Dec 17th 2pm | Dec 21st, 24th, 28th, 30th 2.30pm only | No performances Dec 22nd & 25th Pricing: £8-£60 Nearest Station: Leicester Square Tube The Nutcracker - Information  Mother Goose
Hackney Empire, E8 1EJ 29th November 2007 - 10th January 2009 The Hackney Empire is a grand old music hall - the type of theatre where the pantomime was invented - and a great place to see this traditional festive entertainment. They tend to cast stars who can cut it in the West End rather than Z-list wannabes from the 'I'm really and truly not a celebrity, please vote for me' school of fame. This means there's some serious singing and acting talent on display in Mother Goose: Clive Rowe and Tameka Empson make welcome returns to the Hackney panto stage along with Holby City's Hanna D Clarke, and MTV's Kat B. Best of all are the Empire's audiences, a raucous cross-section from London's multicultural East End, who keep coming back year after year, getting louder every time, and turn this into a proper old knees-up of a panto. Venue: Hackney Empire Address: 291 Mare Street, E8 1EJ Phone: 020 8985 2424 Date: 29th November 2007 - 10th January 2009 Time: Various Pricing: £9-£27 Nearest Station: Hackney Central Rail Mother Goose - Information  Wig Out!
Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, SW1W 8AS 20th November 2008 - 10th January 2009 The Royal Court never do things by halves, and this year's panto season show is all about the Dames. Wig Out is set in the House of Light, a glamorous refuge for drag queens, where passions are running high in preparation for a catwalk face-off against a rival house. A fantastic creative team includes writer Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose 'In the Red and Brown Water' was such a hit at the Young Vic, director Dominic Cooke and Beyonce's choreographer Manwe Sauls-Addison. Absolutely guaranteed to be the campest Christmas show in London. Venue: Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs Address: Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS Phone: 020 7565 5000 Date: 20th November 2008 - 10th January 2009 Time: Mon to Sat 7.30pm, matinees Sat 3.30pm Pricing: £12-£25, £10 all seats on Mondays Nearest Station: Sloane Square Tube Wig Out - Information  The Nutcracker
Royal Opera House, WC2E 9DD 15th December 2008 - 10th January 2009 Unless your name's Ebenezer Scrooge, this glittering production of Hoffman's The Nutcracker cannot fail to get you in the Christmas spirit. As sure as putting up fairy lights, filling Christmas stockings and having too much mulled wine at the office party, watching Clara dance in front of the Christmas tree at the Royal Opera House is a truly festive thing to do. It's hard to imagine a production more indulgently sumptuous than Peter Wright's restaging of Lev Ivanov's choreography to Tchaikovsky's famous score. From the heart-warming family party of the opening scene to the appearance of the magical kingdom, the action beckons you in, helped every ballet step of the way by Julie Trevelyan Oman's gorgeous, nostalgic designs out of the late 1800s. This is pure spectacle but The Royal Ballet pulls it off with such beauty and style that it's a Christmas cracker... Venue: Royal Opera House Address: Bow Street, WC2E 9DD Phone: 020 7304 4000 Date: 15th December 2008 - 10th January 2009 Time: 15th, 16th & 19th Dec 7.30pm, 20th Dec 2pm & 7pm, 21st Dec 12.30pm, 23rd Dec 2pm & 7pm, 26th Dec 7pm, 27th & 28th Dec 12.30pm, 31st Dec & 3rd Jan 1pm & 6pm, 6th, 7th & 9th Jan 7.30pm, 10th Jan 2pm & 7pm Pricing: Various Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube The Nutcracker - Information  The Gruffalo
Duchess Theatre, WC2B 5LA 26th November 2008 - 4th January 2009 The Gruffalo is a classic that kiddies just love and a popular festive outing. Back in London for another stint on the stage, the familiar little mouse will once again be taking a "stroll through the deep, dark wood". Threatened by various predators, a snake, an owl and a gruffalo with "terrible tusks and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws", the mouse outwits them all. The plot is enchanting and is told by Tall Stories with a winning simplicity. The cast of three manage to transform the stage with remarkably few props and a host of infectiously catchy songs. Many of the memorable lines become catchphrases and are repeated throughout the show in a bid to appeal to the innate 'again, again' approach favoured by children. By the end of the show they can raucously join in with their favourite bits. Recommended for children aged 3+ Venue: Duchess Theatre Address: Catherine Street, WC2B 5LA Phone: 0844 412 4659 Date: 26th November 2008 - 4th January 2009 Time: Tue to Fri 11.30am, Sat 11.30am and 1.30pm, Sun 11.30am and 1.30pm Pricing: £11.50-£14.50 Nearest Station: Covent Garden Tube The Gruffalo - Information  The Snowman
Peacock Theatre, WC2A 2HT 3rd December 2008 - 11th January 2009 Who can forget Aled Jones's dulcet tones singing 'Walking in the Air' in the animation of Raymond Briggs's beautifully-illustrated book 'The Snowman'. Aled has since moved on from his choirboy days (finding fame switching on Christmas lights, appearing in panto and presenting 'Songs of Praise') but the spirit of The Snowman lives on in this winter wonderland of a stage show. This is the theatrical equivalent of going to see Father Christmas in his grotto except infinitely more spectacular. A young boy's snowman comes to life and the two of them fly across the sky with a full moon behind them. They whizz around the stage on a sidecar motorcycle and meet a snow princess and the icy Jack Frost on their night-time adventure. When Father Christmas does appear on the scene it's in a shimmering woodland, surrounded by magical reindeer, dancing penguins and a host of snowy friends. As the first notes of 'Walking in the Air' fill the theatre, the heart-melting factor will not disappoint as awe-struck children (and adults) are mesmerised by the dazzling light show of snow. Suitable for children aged 2+ Venue: Peacock Theatre Address: Portugal Street, WC2A 2HT Phone: 08444 124322 Date: 3rd December 2008 - 11th January 2009 Time: Schedule varies with shows at 11am, 2.30pm & 7pm | No shows on Dec 11th, 17th, 18th, 25th, Jan 1st & 7th Pricing: £12 - £30 | Family Ticket £90 (four tickets inc at least one child) Nearest Station: Holborn Tube The Snowman - Information
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