CHRISTMAS AT THE (SNOW) GLOBE (Globe Theatre)*****

 

By Megan

Link: Christmas at the (Snow) Globe | Shakespeare’s Globe (Audio described version available) £15 + £2.50 booking fee

Available until: Tuesday 5^th January 11.59pm GMT

Christmas at the (Snow) Globe is a really wonderful play set at the Globe Theatre. It is all about kindness but I don’t think it’s soppy at all. It has humour too and some really good music and the characters in it feel like real people. It was staged at the Globe last year but this is a new version without an audience which is based on the way the world is now.

The story is about a little boy called Sam who comes to the Globe for the Christmas entertainment. He’s arranged to meet his mum there and he gets there before she does. He meets a lady called Sandi who explains there isn’t a Christmas show this year. Sam is upset so she says he can come into the theatre just for a little bit. He does… and a story of wonder and magic is enacted before his eyes.

It is a really lovely story. It has lots of magic for smaller children but there are lots of more grown-up jokes (I probably didn’t get all of them) and Shakespeare references which I really liked. The Globe is a beautiful theatre and this play finds ways of making it even more beautiful.

This play was written by Sandi and Jenifer Toksvig. They also wrote the adaption of the play which we saw today (I think they must definitely have put in the parts that are all about 2020 but there might have been other changes too) and directed it. Sandi Toksvig starred as Sandi, and Jenifer Toksvig played Jeni. The script is written in a very light-hearted way but it takes itself seriously and I think there is a lot of meaning in it. The direction is similar, there are visual jokes but also some really beautiful moments.

Sandi Toksvig is brilliant as Sandi. She’s quite brisk on the surface but she is very kind. Kieron Bell is lovely as Sam and his acting is really good. There are scenes where he is watching and saying nothing and he expresses Sam’s emotions very well.

Trevor Dion Nicholas is really good as Wen. He is good at the humour and the more serious moments and he sings brilliantly and he is such a great and likeable performer. Tony Jaywardena is funny as Saadi. Stella Duffy’s Robyn is naughty sometimes but there is one bit that’s really sad and she’s good at that too. Sophie Trott plays Snowdrop and she is perfect for the role. She performs the role in a way my younger siblings like but she is an interesting character too. Louise Voce is fun as Jack. There are also people in smaller roles who you might recognise. Everyone in the cast is really good.

There is a very exciting moment when one of my favourite Shakespeare actors Colin Hurley (I loved him as Richard III for Shakespeare Happy Hours and Leontes for The Show Must Go Online) walks past one of my favourite musical theatre performers Trevor Dion Nicholas (Genie in Aladdin) on the stairs. Maybe I’m being silly but that was definitely a magical moment for me. They are both brilliant performers but I never expected to see them together.

It’s a really good play and a really nice positive story at a time when we need it.