What do you get when you combine old school variety, faux TV show, audience participation, and jamming festival bells? Christmas thing, of course!
Returning to the Playhouse for seven hits following its mature run in 2024, Christmas thing the work of Duo Tom Clarkson and Owen Visser, also known as theirs MR show. A special TV segment, a variety segment, Christmas thing It sees a couple turn a theater into their broadcast studio where audience members have special guests.
As soon as you enter the main house in the seven-stroke Playhouse, you are transported to the TV studio and greeted with QR codes to scan. This facilitates further audience participation later, with members of the crowd drawn on stage to participate in many games with Hijinx General Hijinx, showing their support for the group’s bud or group parsnip along the way.
The premise of the show itself is multimedia mayhem, with Tom and Owen aiming to bring their holiday special. And they live with their friend Steve who likes to chat with Santa, when we find out that Old Saint Nick has disappeared. In the evening, there are Christmas games, video drawings, music, remote-controlled cameras (including a member of the audience who does not expect to be three cameras and wear a head camera in the evening), and more turns.
Christmas thing SCWARY is the power of those special elements of ancient festivals that no longer seem to exist, but it is given a shiny 2025 makeover that disappoints jokes, olen cultural references, including rewriting the lyrics to a popular pop song – and a funny storyline. There’s a lot going on throughout the show (maybe less a lot More in all honesty) but this adds to the chaos of the evening.
The show combines comedy with Musical Theatre, and the talents of live audience members. In every show, we are treated with a large number of shows, including icon overload Sunset Boulevard walking was the highlight. There was also a video dropped by the likes of Simon Lipkin, Iain Stivu, and more, which brought a lot of laughs to the entire audience.
Tom and Owen bring the best razzles. This couple has great chemistry (which is to be expected considering their long-term friendship), and they are really into each other tonight. However, they also appeared on their own right, with Tom as the handsome emcee, and Owen as the Tech Wizard.
Much of the show’s success also depends on the audience’s participation, and hey I was thankful for this particular performance, the crowd was in high spirits and showed off their talents throughout the evening. Some of the highlights included a stripped-down version of the national anthem, someone doing splits, and an elderly person impersonating a crying baby.
One of the other bad wins on display was the use of technology throughout. From the first QR codes that show the emotions of the members of the audience at the beginning, the scroll through the setup of netflix is fake, in the amazing return of the return at the end, technology plays a big role and raises the performance.
My biggest qualm with Christmas thing That it felt like it was trying to be too many things at once and at times I felt like this took away from my enjoyment of the show. While the duo kept up the highs between both acts, the first half was strong and there were other bits that felt filler-y throughout. Having said that, you’d have to be a grinch not to enjoy this riotous Christmas extravaganza and it’s a great panto for the festive season.
If you are not a fan of chaetic jokes and auctions to participate then this show probably won’t be for you. However, if you like more rigor and don’t take yourself too seriously Christmas thing it’s the perfect way to count down to the big day.
Christmas thing It plays at the Playhouse for seven runs through December 20. Click here for remaining tickets.
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Self-release: Tickets with pins in exchange for honest review
