Horrible Christmas, Alexandra Palace Review
Photo by Ben Hewis.
Written by Jenna for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
All the fun of a Christmas panto, with a sprinkling of ‘horrible’ history.
The historical Alexandra Palace made the perfect setting for this journey through time; the beautiful theatre with its exposed stonework transports us back to 1873 when the palace first opened (only to burn down 16 days later!). Fittingly, the plot follows a Dickens-type tale of a miserable villain finding redemption through the magic of Christmas. For fans of the Horrible Histories books, the stage show continues with its mission to teach history to children in the most gruesome, fun and memorable way possible.
From the start, I was impressed by the lighting and sound design of the production, with constant spot-on sound effects adding to the jokes and a magical light sequence on the palace roof during the time-travel sequences. I was also impressed by the costumes and set design which were much higher quality than I expected, particularly with so many different scenes and historical timelines to cover.
Horrible Christmas follows the story of Watson, a young boy trying to rescue his stolen Christmas gifts from the wicked Sidney Claus who is determined to ruin Christmas for past, present and future generations. Watson, with the help of detective Shirley Holmes (cue plenty of “Elementary” gags) must travel through time to thwart Sidney’s attempts to ruin important historical Christmas moments. This includes visits to Charles Dickens, Oliver Cromwell, Henry VIII, St Nicholas and even the birth of Christ.
The educational content is cleverly woven into the fast-paced and funny plot, allowing the audience to learn through theatre and comedy. In true Horrible Histories style, writer Terry Deary picks out the parts of history that would most interest young audience members and the cast performs them in an engaging and entertaining way. I definitely added to my knowledge of Christmas past, and my 7-year-old was able to reel off some of the historical facts she had learned in the car on the way home!
The eight actors that make up the ensemble cast all have impeccable comic timing, and there was a lot of laughter throughout from the children and adults in the audience. The jokes were topical and child-friendly (except lots of toilet humour) with none of the risqué comedy you often get in pantos. There were boos aplenty for the villain, along with audience sing-alongs and lots of interaction which kept the children’s attention throughout. While the singing and dancing are not West End quality, the cast performs with great energy, humour and simple dance routines which add to the story whilst making history as fun and interesting as possible.
The show’s larger-than-life characters bring the different historical periods to life. My daughter’s favourite was Dicken’s hilarious, Harry Potter-loving housekeeper Ella. I particularly enjoyed the camp and fabulous portrayal of Charles II (who reinstated Christmas after it was banned by the Puritans - see, I told you I learned something!) Neal Foster was a particular audience favourite, playing a number of historical characters each with a different accent, resulting in laugh-out-loud moments and lots of interaction from the kids.
My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed Horrible Christmas, and if you are looking for an educational alternative to the traditional panto, or just a way to learn about and celebrate the festive traditions that we all know and love, then this is the perfect Christmas show for the whole family.
At Alexandra Palace until 4 January 2025
★ ★ ★ ★
