Humbug: Santa’s Christmas Dive Bar Experience at Waterloo Vaults Review
Written by Eloise for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
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A fun, spirited Christmas experience combining immersive performance, theatrical show, and musical gig, playing at the iconic Waterloo Vaults. Although a high energy experience, there is confusion to the identity of Humbug, meaning some moments are weaker than others – however, the overall sense of the experience is that it will absolutely get you in the Christmas spirit.
The story follows Santa on his final day performing at an American dive bar, Humbug, before he goes off to his usual Santa duties. The problem being, Santa doesn’t want to go back - he loves being a rockstar. The audience follows Santa through his tears and tantrums as the band, local mailman, and waitress of Humbug try to persuade Santa to have one last show before going back to spreading Christmas cheer.
The story is simple, and it is reminiscent of classic childhood Christmas films - the whole experience leaving you a childish grin - whilst being very much 18+! Alcohol, Christmas cocktails, diner food and waffles can be ordered to your table which immerses you even further into the American dive bar feel.
There are a few levels of tickets, and I was gifted the red band, Naughty or Nice VIP Lounge – which would have been £80pp. Tickets range from £26pp for a standing ticket, to £80pp for the VIP experience. With the VIP ticket you get an extra private space with private bar, Christmas crackers, and a free welcome drink from the naughty or nice cocktail menu. You also get the pick of the prime cabaret tables at the front of the room - closest to the stage, rather than sitting on the long group bench tables nearer the back of the room. Although the choice of seating, private bar, and free drinks seem to be the only difference in ticket. If you’re happy to sit a little further back - the standard tickets still offer you a full access to the immersive, show, and musical aspect of Humbug.
Although the show has run for three years in other venues, The Vaults seem to be the perfect venue for Humbug. As a fan of the Vaults – which champions high energy, unique immersive shows, Humbug is very much the right vibe for the space. However, there are some teething problems with the show which I hope can be fixed before Christmas! A few microphones were not working, which was swiftly fixed by stage management - however throughout the show the microphones were too quiet. Having wonderful seats, only 10 meters from the stage, I still couldn’t hear the action, dialogue from the acting scenes as well as some of the singing. This is partially because of the microphone volume, but also due to the sound of the audience. A double-edged sword when the audience isn’t captured by the performance enough to listen, but they also can’t hear the action well enough to follow the story. You could see the actors struggling against the volume of the crowd, but when the experience is part immersive/gig/show you can’t expect the audience to react like they’re watching Shakespeare.
There are some moments of disorganisation, with tickets asking you to arrive at 7pm. We didn’t get through the doors into the venue until about 7.15pm, having to queue in the cold. You then go through scanning tickets, and the cloakroom before being grouped into 20 - held in the hallway with two of the band members playing some jazzy Christmas songs against the sound of the crowd. In these groups of 20 you then enter the immersive part of the experience. Because of this it takes a fair while to filter the audience through into the main venue. We were told the show would start at 8pm but it ran about 30 minutes late. Overall, the experience is advertised to take 3+ hours, but all in all I was there for 4.5 hours – and the party was still going when I left!
The immersive part of the experience begins straight away after you’ve queued and got in the doors. Unfortunately, this was a disappointing start to the experience. Although it was nice to meet the characters involved in the main show, it is practically difficult to filter the audience to the main venue in this way and is sure to lead to delays. The actors seemed rushed and disengaged with the immersive element - coming into their own on the stage itself. If you’ve been to Humbug before and are expecting an immersive experience with Santa, that is no longer included. You get to meet Howard the postie in the mailroom, Daphne in her dressing room (with quick cameo from Johnny the frontman of the band), and a bright young elf (who unfortunately wasn’t seen in the show) in a sad garden centre of brightly coloured Christmas trees.
The music was wonderful, and some excellent sing along classics were played such as All I want for Christmas, as well as jazzy Elvis style covers like Run Rudolph Run. The band are stellar and are really stand out, they create a wonderful atmosphere.
Overall if you’re looking to get into the Christmas spirit and don’t mind a party - this is for you! If you love live music, you’ll have a blast - as the quality of the band is excellent. However, if you’re looking for an immersive Christmas show - this isn’t the most polished experience out there. You’ll have a lot of fun - especially if you stay for DJ Santa on the decks once the band have left the stage.
Humbug is running from the 18th November until the 31st December, with no shows on the 25th or 26th December. Tickets are limited, with quite a few of the ticket options sold out. Get booking now to avoid disappointment – and don’t forget to wear something Christmassy!
★ ★ ★ ★
