REVIEW | Wishmas, Old Bauble Factory London

Reviews

23 Nov

`Wishmas production photography. Credit Matt Crockett`

Written by Cathie

Disclaimer: We were gifted a ticket in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own

General warnings: Smoke/haze, flashing lights, loud sounds, vibrating furniture

There is something very magical about the nights drawing in and the approach of Christmas and the New Year. Many of us will remember searching the skies endlessly on Christmas Eve for that special sleigh and straining our ears for any hint of reindeer grunting or Santa’s ‘Ho Ho Hoing’. Some of us probably can still remember writing our letters to Father Christmas and wishing fervently for that ‘it toy’ or something much more compassionate. Wishmas encapsulates this feeling of childish sincerity, hope and Christmas joy better than almost any other experience I’ve ever seen.

The premise of this immersive experience is that you are finding out what happens to your magical childhood wishes. ‘You'll wander through fantastic rooms and meet festive characters as you discover the story of where all your wishes go. For children of all ages and everyone who believes in the magic of Christmas.’

Although this show is most definitely tailored to the families of very young children, you can’t help but be transported into the magic of Christmas, whether or not you have a child as company. You are carefully led to a sequence of rooms including the initial meet and greet with an elf introducing you to the robins which collect your Christmas wishes (my personal favourite moment), the sky train to the north pole, the room with the clock of now, the maps of everywhere (both of which contain interactive activities for you to complete) and finally a winter wonderland finale before exiting to the Christmas shop or delightful bauble workshop. The story of having to ‘save Christmas’ by finding all the lost wishes is very predictable. However, it is still fun to watch all the children work so hard to find the wishes and leave feeling very chuffed they saved the world just in time for a sugary snack and hot chocolate on the train home to bed. Their astonished reactions upon meeting Father Christmas or ‘Nick the Wish Fisher’ was a fabulous sight to behold.

The strongest element of this immersive experience is its set. The rooms are completely festooned with glittering colours, festive trees, twinkling lights and ring with joyful music. They even smell of festive spice and completely engulf you in the Christmas spirit. The creative team of designer Julie Landau, lighting designer Tim Mitchell and puppet specialist Charlie Tymms have outdone themselves in making a fabulous winter wonderland for children to experience. This set is certainly one I will remember for years to come. It was a rude shock coming back to the real world of Waterloo’s streets after being so cosily ensconced in its yuletide warmth.

Another huge strength of this production and subsequent workshop is staff who make up the elves and wish guides. They all work incredibly hard to be welcoming, kind and helpful. They are clearly putting 110% effort into making the experience a cherished lifetime memory for the little children. They remain in character even when the group is entering the room and you can hear them chatting to each other on how to best find wishes when the room is being reset behind you.

Despite the tour being 60 minutes long, there is a lot of sitting still in this production whilst the story is narrated by the fantastic actors. So, if you have a very wiggly little one or a child who struggles with sensory input, this might be a miss. Another drawback for me was that it’s completely guided so there is no chance to explore this Christmas adventure independently the way you can for punchdrunk productions. I think for families with children aged 4-8 this experience would be a brilliant memory to cherish for future Christmases.

If you would like a shorter treacly sweet Christmas family experience without being cramped into theatre seats, this production will ignite your Christmas warmth and rekindle some of your childlike joy in the wonder of a Christmas wish.