Review: Who Can Save Christmas?
Crosby Civic Hall

IN A CHRISTMAS where Aladdin is the panto of choice for so many venues, it was interesting to see a show based on a completely original idea.

When ABD Productions staged Peter Pan last year, chances for audience participation were limited, but Anne Dalton and Co have clearly been taking notes for this new production.

Two large parties filled the front half of the Civic Hall for this performance, and the biggest response of the day went to villains Vic and Vin Virus (broadcasters John Storey and Neil Newton) who were booed to the rafters every time they appeared, and the pair clearly didn’t mind waiting a bit longer than usual to deliver their lines.

The premise of Who Can Save Christmas reminded me of Wonders in Letterland, a programme the eight-year-old me used to rush home from school for. It’s a quest by the initially mismatched Macho Man (Jonny Sheldon) and Disco Dolly (Sara Creeney) across six very different lands to find the legendary Auntie Biotics (Penelope Peters), the only person who can cure Santa’s computer of a virus that prevents him accessing the Christmas wishes of all the boys and girls.

Considering how tricky it can be to write a simple, catchy melody, there is a stocking full of memorable tunes in Who Can Save Christmas. Personal favourites were Bring Out Your Smile and the doo-wop style Baby by the reformed demons led by the mischievous Dezzie.

Sheldon is a solid leading man with his gruff all-American action hero accent, and Creeney is brilliant in the scene where Disco Dolly teaches Dezzie’s lot to mind their manners.

Joey Bryans, who plays Chuckle the Clown, appears to have limbs forged from elastic, and it’s a pity his character was restricted to Santa’s Sorting Station as he would have made a welcome addition to the adventuring party.

This is a great show, and one that will get kids of all ages in to the festive mood. At one point I wondered why I could suddenly hear an ungodly noise, then realised it was because I had started to boo Vic and Vin.

J.M.

Have you seen the show? What did you think? Please leave a comment.

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