Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas at the Waterside in Sale Review

Reviewed by Rosemary Knight and Lucy Gwilliam

One of our favourite Christmas family traditions is taking our younger family members to the theatre, so we were delighted to have the opportunity to take eight year old Heidi and five year old Oliver to The Waterside  in Sale to watch the Pins and Needles production of Father Christmas, which is based on the festive book by Raymond Briggs.

We were given the opportunity to pre-book milk and cookie packs for £2 each, which was especially nice for the children to eat alongside Father Christmas as he pauses for refreshments during his delivery round.

On arrival at the theatre, we were shown to our seats by the helpful staff. I have personally never visited this theatre before and was pleased to find it is very family friendly and cosy.

The show is all about a very grumpy, but loveable, Father Christmas waking up on Christmas Eve and preparing for the mammoth task of ensuring children all over the world receive their Christmas presents. Mike Aherne is bloomin’ brilliant as a grouchy Father Christmas, grumbling and moaning as he gets everything ready for his busy day, preparing his breakfast and feeding his cat, dog and reindeer. The scene where he goes to the toilet for a poo, pulls his pants down and the musician says ‘plop’ had the youngsters in the audience chuckling away. Father Christmas has to contend with cold icy conditions and difficult chimneys to climb down but of course he succeeds in his task to deliver all the presents, entertaining us all the way. Richard Booth cleverly manipulates the cat, dog, reindeer and chicken puppets, bringing them to life. The musician, Katy Sobey, sits high up on a platform creating superb sound effects as well as playing musical instruments.

The highlight of the show is Father Christmas on his sleigh being pulled by two reindeer towards the audience which was extremely cleverly done.

Many of the children in the audience were cosily dressed in their pyjamas and this is actively encouraged as part of the slumber performance. This is a charming, magical Christmas treat for all the family. Our little ones absolutely loved this performance and at less than one hour in length, there was no time for them to get restless. To quote Father Christmas ‘it’s bloomin’ brilliant!’

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £10 to £16.50 (booking fees may apply).

Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas is at the Waterside in Sale from 4-31 December 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.watersidearts.org or call the box office on 0161 912 5616.

Waterside, 1 Waterside Plaza, Sale, M33 7ZF | 0161 912 5616