THE FIR TREE Comes to Shakespeare's Globe This Holiday Season

Shakespeare's Globe has announced this year's Christmas production, a festive re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Fir Tree. The Fir Tree promises to be a magical family festive production of storytelling, puppetry, song and hope. Audiences are invited to take part in carol-singing and tree-decorating while enjoying a hot chocolate or mulled wine under the wintry star-lit sky of The Globe Theatre.

In a beautiful wood stands a little Fir Tree. Surrounded by neighbouring oaks and cedars, and kept company by friendly woodland creatures, it enjoys a peaceful life. But the Fir Tree is curious. It dreams of a world outside the forest, yearning for adventure. What will happen when it grows up? Where will it go? And will it be everything the Fir Tree wished for?

This new re-telling of a classic fairy tale is written by acclaimed writer Hannah Khalil, directed by Michelle Terry, designed by Sam Wilde, with music by James Maloney. It celebrates the natural world and shines a light on the importance of taking care of our planet. The Fir Tree will use Sam's signature use of cardboard to bring the forest to life. Puppets, costumes, and set have been created from waste cardboard and an accompanying how-to video will encourage the audience to reuse their own boxes to make their own puppets or to decorate the Fir Tree Forest with recycled Christmas Decorations.

Sam Wilde, Designer, says: "The Fir Tree teaches us the importance of sustainability, of the role of stories, imagination and of the wonder and lives of trees. Most of the elements of the production come, in one way or another, from the forest. The Fir Tree design is an exciting venture into sustainability within theatre and will repurpose and reuse set, props, and costume elements from previous Globe productions whenever possible. Puppets, costumes, and set have been created from waste cardboard, and as the 'Card-bard' I am encouraging audiences to reuse their own boxes and fill our forest with recycled Christmas decorations. When an alternative has been needed, they have been created from sustainable, recycled, or recyclable materials. This method of designing is not a compromise, but a new way of working for the future."

The ensemble comprises:

Anna Crichlow. Previous theatre credits include: As You Like It, The Tempest and A Midsummer Night's Dream as part of the 2021 Globe on Tour ensemble. The Last Noël (Attic Theatre Company/Arts at the Old Fire Station); The Worst Witch (Royal & Derngate); Confidence (Southwark Playhouse); Common (National Theatre) and Pride & Prejudice (Regent's Park Open Air Theatre).

Bettrys Jones. Previous theatre credits include: Hamlet, As You Like It and The Little Match Girl (Shakespeare's Globe); Wise Children, Bagdad Cafe (Wise Children); The Tin Drum (Kneehigh); Life of Galileo (Young Vic); We Want You to Watch, Edward II and War Horse (National Theatre); The Mouse And His Child, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Comedy Of Errors (RSC); The Snow Queen; (The Rose Theatre, Kingston). Film and TV includes: Midsomer Murders (ITV); Doctors (BBC) and Skins (Company Pictures)

Tom Stuart. Previous theatre credits include: After Edward, Edward II, The Broken Heart, The Changeling and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Shakespeare's Globe); I am not myself these days (Liverpool Everyman/ Fuel); The Last Days of Troy (Royal Exchange) and Theatre Uncut (Young Vic). Film and TV credits include: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy, Atonement (Working Title); Out of her Mind (BBC), People Just Do Nothing (Roughcut TV), Law & Order: UK (ITV).

Richard Katz. Previous theatre credits include: Bartholomew Fair, The Merry Wives of Windsor, As You Like It, Hamlet, Nell Gwynn, Richard II, A Midsummer's Night's Dream and The Golden Ass (Shakespeare's Globe). Love and Other Acts of Violence (Donmar Warehouse); The Divide, The Lorax (Old Vic); Peer Gynt, Romeo and Juliet, The Morte D'Arthur (RSC); The Encounter, The Master and Margarita (Complicité ); 1984 (Headlong/Sonia Friedman); War Horse, Measure for Measure (National Theatre). Film and TV includes: Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel); Enigma (Buena Vista International); Motherfatherson, Taboo, (BBC); A Discovery of Witches (Sky); Crossing Lines, Poirot (ITV).

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