News: Double Bill of Festive Theatre Coming to the North East

 

Double Bill of Festive Theatre Coming to the North East

Red Ladder Theatre Company and Wrongsemble are bringing two contrasting Christmas productions to Stockton Arts Centre and Gosforth Civic Theatre this December. The tour features Red Ladder's adult comedy A Proper Merry Christmess and Wrongsemble's family show A Town Called Christmas, with the same cast performing in both productions.

A Proper Merry Christmess, written by Leeds-based playwrights Seeta Wrightson and Leon Fleming, takes place on Christmas Eve at a West Yorkshire garden centre. The story centres on Team Grotto as they compete for a seasonal bonus, with only one department able to claim the prize. The production promises a more honest take on the festive season than traditional Christmas fare, incorporating elements that emerged from workshops with local communities including Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation and St George's Crypt, a Leeds charity supporting homeless people.

Red Ladder - A Proper Merry Christmess - image: David Lindsay.

The comedy marks the playwriting debut for Wrightson, a stand-up comedian who reached the semi-finals of the BBC New Comedy Awards in 2021 and has been selected for the BBC Comedy sponsored 2025 Female Pilot Club initiative. She attended Red Ladder's playwriting courses in 2024. Her co-writer Fleming is co-artistic director of 5Pound5 Theatre, with previous writing credits including The Chechnya Plays and The Boy Next Door. The production is directed by Cheryl Martin, who became Red Ladder's artistic director in January 2024.

A Town Called Christmas tells the story of Clementine, who imagines a gingerbread village where chocolate coins serve as currency and laughter decorates the air. Aimed at children aged three and above, the show follows Clementine as she works with a caretaker and a malfunctioning robot to restore festive spirit to the town. The production features original music by Bay Bryan and Claire O'Connor.

Writer and co-director Elvi Piper founded Wrongsemble and trained at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama and the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. Recent directing work includes The Wizard of Oz at The Dukes and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre. She co-directs with Richard Priestley, a Manchester-based director and choreographer originally from Northern Ireland who has spent over 15 years creating movement-led theatre.

Wrongsemble Christmas - Artwork: Bethan Woollvin

The cast features Charles Doherty, who trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and has recent screen credits including The Pentaverate, Citadel and The Tattooist of Auschwitz. He received a NODA award for his performance as King Arthur in Spamalot. Maryam Ali, based in Teesside and trained at Manchester School of Theatre, is currently developing her first full-length play commissioned for research and development with ARC Stockton. Roo Arwen, a recent graduate of The Arden School of Theatre, makes her professional theatre debut with these productions.

Red Ladder, founded in 1968 in London, has roots in the radical socialist theatre movement known as agitprop. Now based in Leeds, the company has over 55 years of history producing new theatre and supporting emerging creative talent. Wrongsemble, formed in 2015 and based in Leeds, specialises in creating work for young people, schools and families. The company won the Child Friendly Leeds Award in 2020 and Best Theatre Company in the Yorkshire Prestige Awards 2022.

Tickets:

A Proper Merry Christmess plays at Stockton Arts Centre (ARC) on December 3, 4 and 10 at 7.30pm, and at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on December 20 at 7.30pm. Age guidance: 16+

A Town Called Christmas plays at Stockton Arts Centre (ARC) from December 2 to 13, and at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle from December 19 to 21. For adventurers aged 3+ and their grown-ups.

For more information and tickets, visit redladder.co.uk