Review: Get Santa! at Newcastle Northern Stage

Being Normal Isn’t Normal!

Get Santa!

Newcastle Northern Stage

Until Saturday 27^th December 2014.

Poor ten year old Holly doesn’t want presents for Christmas, so she writes to Santa to tell him. All that she wants is to see her real Dad, the one who gave her a big teddy bear to look after. She has been really good all year, unlike the lad at school who flooded the toilets. Holly also wants to meet Santa so she hatches a plan.

Northern Stage don’t put on a traditional pantomime at Christmas, rather, they put on a couple of plays for children, and this year Get Santa is for the over 7s. whilst there is no shriek of “It’s behind you” and rapid puns, there is still a healthy mixture of laughs, slapstick and music to keep the young entertained. Director Lorne Campbell has done a cracking job of producing a play which had the full house smiling.

Tessa Parr is immediately engaging with the audience, as the young Holly, and shares a number of the early chuckles with Gary Kitching, who plays her step Dad. Anthony Neilson and Nick Powell set up a less than conventional story as Holly’s step Dad is a dog who thinks it is normal to decorate a tree with meat and sausages. Her Gran, played by Jane Holman, tries to explain that no family is normal before breaking into song about how she doesn’t care what people say. Not batting an eyelid throughout the show is Paula Penman as Holly’s Mum.

The set design is a cross between a living room and an advent calendar. This gives a number of handy windows for the chorus, dressed up as snowmen, to appear. The snowmen may have resembled the Canadians in the South Park Movie but they added a seasonal feel to the show when they appeared.

When Christmas comes Santa (James Ryland), his son Bumblehole (Tom Walton) and her favourite Teddy (Scott Turnbull) get involved as the plot twists and turns. The children in the audience were captivated as the narrative unfolded. The cliff hanger at the interval was a nice touch. The music from Aly Macrae fits in nicely with the tempo of the show.

Northern Stage have a Christmas show that they can be proud which leaves the audience, both young and old, feeling happy and in the Christmas spirit. Tessa is wonderful as the young naïve Holly and there is no weak link in the rest of the cast. Perhaps a bigger role could have been given to Gary Kitching with his natural comic timing but that is a minor quibble.

This is a warm, friendly Christmas show which shows everyone that weird is normal and left the audience grinning.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo.

Tickets:

Get Santa! Mon 1 – Sat 27 Dec

Tickets: £24 / £19.50 / £14.50, under 21s £12 
Special Deals:
Families: Family of 4 - £60 for selected performances (see website)
Multibuy: Buy at the same time as other shows to recieve a discount - see multibuy website

A jolly Christmas play full of songs, slapstick, puppetry and fun for children aged 7 and over and their families.

Box Office: 0191 230 5151

www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/get-santa

Preview: Get Santa! at Newcastle Northern Stage

Northern Stage’s Christmas Treat

Get Santa!

Newcastle Northern Stage

Monday 1 - Saturday 27 Dec 2014

Credit: Garance Marneur

Every year Holly has been nice, not naughty. She has written Santa a letter, left milk, cookies and a carrot for Rudolph and asked for the one thing she really, really, really wants - to meet her dad for the first time. And every year, Santa gave her toys and books and chocolate and all the other rubbish she didn’t want. So this year, on Christmas Eve, in the dead of night when everyone is asleep, she’s going to Get Santa. But when Holly’s trap goes wrong and she kidnaps Santa’s hopeless son, a chain of magical events is unleashed that leads to a very grumpy Santa and an endless Christmas forced upon the world...

Written by Anthony Neilson and directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Lorne Campbell, this new production is a fun, festive show with songs, slapstick and puppetry for children aged 7 and over and their families. But this Christmas, one group of talented youngsters will do more than just watch.

For the first time, members of Northern Stage’s Young Company will take centre stage in the theatre’s big Christmas show. Young Company gives performers aged 16 – 21 the opportunity to develop their talent and skills through a unique experience working with industry professionals. Director Lorne Campbell says, "We established our Young Company as a way to give excited and exciting young performers access to the professional stage. Casting Young Company members in Get Santa is a first try at taking some of our exceptional young people and putting them into the middle of our biggest show of the year.”

Six Young Company members aged 17 - 19 will take part, including 17 year old Anna Robinson from Gosforth who has been cast as understudy to the lead role of Holly, played by Tessa Parr – most recently seen on stage in Greyscale’s 2014 Edinburgh fringe show Dead to Me, Tessa’s TV roles include BBC2’s Edwardian drama Parade’s End, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch. Anna celebrated her 16th birthday while rehearsing for Young Company London 2012 project Truce, and will celebrate her 18th when rehearsals start for Get Santa in November. Anna says, “I'm looking forward to working with a real, professional company, with real, professional actors! I'd always thought the only way to work professionally was through getting some sort of drama school qualification - I never thought I'd be doing it at 18!”

19 year old Phoebe Elliott from Newcastle has been involved with Northern Stage since she was 11. “I’m really looking forward to being part of Get Santa! The opportunity to be involved in a professional main stage production and to be directed by the theatre’s Artistic Director, Lorne Campbell, was far too good an opportunity to pass up. Northern Stage is responsible for most of my professional development - I’ve done everything from summer schools to development projects to fundraising performances. I’m also a National Youth Theatre member and I founded, and run, my own theatre company.”

Tom Walton, Sharuna Sagar and NS Young Company Photo: BBC

In another first this Christmas, our newest talent will be joined by some more familiar faces – BBC Look North’s Sharuna Sagar and ITV Tyne Tees and Good Morning Britain presenter Rachel Sweeney both have cameo roles.

Rachel said, "I was over the moon to be asked to play a cameo role in Get Santa! I met Lorne when I was singing at a charity ball earlier this year and really admire the passion he has for theatre. The script is funny and I'm thrilled to be a part of the show. I have written comedy and my mother is a stand-up comedienne so I always appreciate a witty one-liner or two! It's going to be a fantastic experience and I'm very much looking forward to it."

Sharuna Sagar and Bumblehole played by

Tom Walton in Get Santa Photo: BBC

"Unsurprisingly I've never been asked to do anything like this before - I'm more used to the small screen than the big stage, and the patch I cover doesn't usually extend as far as the North Pole! I've interviewed a few characters in my time, but few as unnerving (but strangely charming) as Bumblehole from Get Santa." Sharuna Sagar, BBC Look North

The cast also includes singer, musician and actor Jane Holman (Tyne, plus film and TV roles in Vera, 55 Degrees North, George Gently, and Billy Elliot) Playing Holly’s mum; Gary Kitching (Oh, What a Lovely War, The Suggestibles) plays Holly’s stepdad...who also happens to be a dog; Tom Walton is Santa’s son Bumblehole (The Borrowers, Tattercoats); Paula Penman (Donna Disco, The Little Detective Agency) plays Holly’s Gran; Scott Turnbull (winner of the 2012 Journal Culture Award for his performance in Apples) plays Teddy; and James Ryland (Waking Ned, Taggart) is Santa.

Award-winning Scottish playwright Anthony Neilson is renowned for his pioneering, ground-breaking and imaginative new work for the Royal Court, Headlong and the Edinburgh Festival. Composer Nick Powell’s work for theatre includes the National Theatre, Paines Plough and Improbable. Linbury Prize-winning designer Garance Marneur worked alongside Lorne on last year’s Northern Stage Christmas production Dark Woods, Deep Snow having designed the set for acclaimed children’s show The Prince and the Pauper at the Unicorn Theatre. Sound design is by Aly Macrae, who collaborated on Northern Stage’s 2013’s Edinburgh Fringe hit, The Bloody Great Border Ballad.

Lorne says, “Get Santa is a show with a huge, modern heart. It’s about the magic of Christmas, the imagination of childhood, the weirdness of families and that even if you accidentally bring an evil teddy bear to life and almost destroy the world, your Gran will still love you.”

Get Santa! is on at Northern Stage, Newcastle from 1 to 27 December.

Tickets:

Get Santa! Mon 1 – Sat 27 Dec

Tickets: £24 / £19.50 / £14.50, under 21s £12 
Special Deals:
Families: Family of 4 - £60 for selected performances (see website)
3+: Buy 3 or more tickets for Sat 6 Dec and get 50% (except £14.50 tickets)
Multibuy: Buy at the same time as other shows to recieve a discount - see multibuy website

A jolly Christmas play full of songs, slapstick, puppetry and fun for children aged 7 and over and their families.

Box Office: 0191 230 5151

www.northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/get-santa

Review: The Soaking of Vera Shrimp at Newcastle Live Theatre

An Aqueous Tale

The Soaking of Vera Shrimp

Newcastle Live Theatre

Until Saturday 18^th October 2014.

Part science project, part heart-felt teenage tale: this is a powerful exploration of one young lady’s place in society.

Vera Elizabeth Shrimp has a presentation to make about what she has found out in science for Mr Gibb, who teaches her at Hill Street comprehensive. The set resembles that of a teacher’s bench and white board complete with an overhead projector. As every good science report should do, Vera begins with her hypothesis. She believes she can feel the emotion in a drop of rain. The emotion was passed on when it evaporated near a person. By collecting and feeling the rain that falls near her bus shelter, Vera senses and then records the emotion.

So far, so good. Alison Carr has written a production which features good science, but it takes more than that to win the Live Theatre/Empty Space Bursary Award. Tessa Parr begins the show acting as a happy carefree Vera but it becomes quickly apparent that poor Vera has more to cope with in life than your average 14 year old should have to. This includes coping with her fellow teenage classmates who can be cruel with their remarks and actions.

Tessa is always engaging and in the hour long show she draws the audience in without asking for undue sympathy for Vera. By not going for the usual emption strings Alison Carr has written a much more meaningful production.

The use of traditional teaching tools like the flipchart and overhead projector coupled with some short voice recordings gives the play quite a unique yet familiar feel. Whilst we don’t get a free glass of wine, the chocolate cakes were a nice touch. This is a one man show that is demanding of the actor and Tessa is simply fabulous as the teenager. The ending left the audience thinking – another sign of great theatre.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October, 8pm
The Soaking of Vera Shrimp
Presented by Live Theatre and The Empty Space

In association with Rosie & Me
Written by Alison Carr 
Directed by Rosie Kellagher 
Performed by Tessa Parr

Tickets:

Dates: Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October, 8pm
Location: Studio Theatre, Live Theatre, Newcastle
Duration: 1 hour
Suitability: 14+
Tickets: £8, £6 concs

Box office: (0191) 232 1232

Online: www.live.org.uk

Preview: The Soaking of Vera Shrimp at Newcastle Live Theatre

Bursary prize winner Alison Carr showcases The Soaking of Vera Shrimp at Live Theatre
in October

The Soaking of Vera Shrimp

Newcastle Live Theatre

Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October, 8pm
 

Audiences at Live Theatre this October audiences can catch Alison Carr’s The Soaking of Vera Shrimp which won a development bursary from Live Theatre and The Empty Space at the Bursary Scratch Night in December 2013. This playful and poignant solo show follows previous bursary winner Alistair McDowall who won the bursary in 2012 to develop his critically acclaimed show Captain Amazing.

As Gez Casey, Live Theatre’s literary manager explains: “As well as providing audiences with the opportunity to see new work and the chance to influence the creative process, Live Lab events in our Studio Theatre space are part of Live Theatre’s extensive talent development programme. Our recent Edinburgh Fringe hit Captain Amazing emerged through Live Theatre and The Empty Space’s Bursary scheme and we’re delighted to be showing our 40th birthday winning production The Soaking of Vera Shrimp in October.”

This heartfelt one woman show about grief, love and never giving up will be performed from Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October at 8pm. Performer Tessa Parr steps onto the stage to tell the story of fourteen year-old Vera Shrimp who discovers that she has an extraordinary ability – she can ‘read’ raindrops, each one having soaked up an emotion from those their water has come into contact with. And amongst all of the hundreds of millions of raindrops falling from the sky, Vera starts the search for the one that holds what she is desperate to find.

Directed by Rosie Kellagher, this is the first full production of the show described by an audience member at the work-in-development showing as “compelling, evocative and poetic”.

The writer, Alison Carr, said:   “We were delighted to win the Bursary Award and are really excited to bring this brand new Vera Shrimp to audiences. The show has been through different incarnations but the Bursary has helped give us the time and space to find the right way to tell it, putting Vera herself centre stage and allowing her to tell her fantastic, funny and heartbreaking story in her own unique way."

The Soaking of Vera Shrimp is Tessa Parr’s Live Theatre debut. Tessa has performed with a variety of theatre companies including, most recently, with Greyscale in their Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Dead to Me. Tessa’s other theatre credits include Alice in Bed with north east based theatre company Tender Buttons and The Last of the Lake by Rough Fiction.

Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October, 8pm
The Soaking of Vera Shrimp
Presented by Live Theatre and The Empty Space

In association with Rosie & Me
Written by Alison Carr 
Directed by Rosie Kellagher 
Performed by Tessa Parr

Tickets:

Dates: Wednesday 15 to Saturday 18 October, 8pm
Location: Studio Theatre, Live Theatre, Newcastle
Duration: 1 hour
Suitability: 14+
Tickets: £8, £6 concs

Box office: (0191) 232 1232

Online: www.live.org.uk