BWW Reviews: THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Chickenshed Theatre, November 29 2013

It's easy to acknowledge the great work Chickenshed does. After all, it's there in front of you - a cavalcade of humanity, almost 200 men and women, boys and girls in each of four cast rotas. And they are not just ruthessly winnowed chosen few whom we usually see on stage - for these actors are the chosen many. Chickenshed's ethos of inclusive theatre could be seen as merely worthy (for it is, very worthy) but it's no less entertaining, no less theatrical, no less magical for that. And magic, for the little kids and the very big kids in the audience, is what Christmas shows are all about.

Six kids are being kids on the night before Christmas - too cool for Santa, but excited at the prospect of presents and Christmas pud, they eventually drop off to sleep. When they awake, they discover that the fate of Christmas itself is in their hands, for if they fail to deliver the presents left at their fireside (by mistake) to their rightful recipients, Christmas will be no more. With a couple of jumpy reindeers and a guiding elf, the Sleigh Kids earn their title by boarding their sofa / sleigh and heading off to lands distant and strange.

In Pantoland, two old Chickenshed favourites, Joseph Morton and Michael Offei, play two ugly sisters assigning roles at Ipswich, Scunthorpe and a slightly scary Glasgow, to some less than enthusiastic pantomime characters - a sulky teenage Buttons being the pick. There's plenty of slapstick for the kids and some very clever theatrical in-jokes for the parents as the laughs come thick and fast. Next up, it's Dickensland where, Gor Blimey Guvnor wouldn't you know it, Scrooge (Daniel Banton) isn't happy at all. Lastly, it's on to the frozen world of the Snow Queen (Belinda McGuirk), whose heart must be melted by the love and imagination of children.

Each of these lands is populated by crowds of kids who dance, clown and fill the enormous stage with an almost palpable enthusiasm. Some sing well - and some sing spectacularly well - and every one of them is there, under the lights before hundreds of heads in the stalls, earning the wave of applause that breaks all over them at curtain. It's a cliche, but it's the right one in this instance - it's simply life-affirming.

You can read more about the background of the show by clicking here.

The Night Before Christmas is at Chickenshed until 11 January.