Review of The Jolly Christmas Postman at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The Northampton Royal and Derngate have a tradition of producing a family play in the Royal Theatre alongside a spectacular pantomime in the Derngate, offering a more subtle Christmas treat for a family audience. However, this calendar staple has been missing since 2019, when the fine Pippi Longstocking graced the Royal stage and an unmentionable virus reared its head. Based on this triumphant return this year in the guise of The Jolly Christmas Postman, it has been heartily missed.

Adam Peck has truly lovingly adapted The Jolly Christmas Postman for the stage from the original story by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. From the beginning, this is a proper cracker of theatre entertainment that captivates an occasionally distractable audience of all ages. The story follows the adventures of a friendly postman beset by an influx of mail on Christmas Eve and his adventures with an assortment of Fairy-Tale characters.

What is, in essence, a kid's show aimed primarily at young children and their families manages to turn into a truly magical piece of theatre. If you love theatre and the world it can create, you will find much to cherish in The Jolly Christmas Postman. Director Jesse Jones, alongside an incredible job in the creative team, pulls out all the theatre stops in our journey from the Three Bears home onto Toytown and the Gingerbread Boy in an incredibly well-realised scene. Finally, when we reach the big SC's secret hideout, the big reveal is an additional magic moment.

The cast is perfectly suited to the show, including the delightful Samuel Morgan-Grahame, who remains the kindly postman throughout and is very much Jolly by nature. His playful enthusiasm for the role and endearing performance charm the audience, young and old.

The rest of the cast of six brings to life an assortment of characters, including Jess Lobo's chav take on the reformed Goldilocks and Ellen Chivers as the very much broken, hospital-bound Humpty Dumpty. Elsewhere, we have Joseph Kempster's fabulous Gingerbread Boy, a creepy, mischievous Rumpelstiltskin, and Aaron Douglas as the dastardly Mr Wolf, who may or might not have become a reformed Wolf. Finally completing the cast is Dan McGarry, playing the big SC himself in a delightful finale.

A delightful, colourful set from Abby Clarke enhances The Jolly Christmas Postman. Dominated by envelopes and vibrant colours, it is a vivid treat, and its elaborate construction and design continue to thrill throughout the show via the houses of the characters the postman visits. Also, in the show, there is a peppering of catchy, often folky songs from Darren Clark, further enhancing the production and entertaining the audience.

The Jolly Christmas Postman is a delightful hour of theatre that surpasses the "kids" show moniker to make this an utterly magical piece of theatre to thrill those of all ages. Young or old, make sure this Christmas, you spend a fun and enchanting hour in the company of The Jolly Postman.

A magical hour of theatre able to charm an audience, both young and old.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Wednesday 11th December 2024 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.

The Jolly Christmas Postman is on stage at Royal & Derngate until Tuesday, 31st December 2024.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate and to book tickets, see their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Photos: Robert Day

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...

Review of Matthew Bourne's Romeo + Juliet at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Despite now having seen a few dance shows encompassing many different styles, I had yet to see one developed by Sir Matthew Bourne, a controversial player in his time, but as the relatively recent knighthood suggests, now very much embraced by the establishment. So, does Romeo + Juliet live up to his name, that is the question? So, first, this might normally be where I give you a brief outline of the story, but, for one, most have a general understanding of the love disaster of William Shakespeare's play already, and two, as it turns out from the Bourne production, a huge amount of what you might be familiar with has gone or been dramatically changed anyway. There is shocking complicity in murders, there are different moments of murder and gone are the warring factions of the Montagues and Capulets. Characters themselves feel very different at times also, to such an extent that even knowing the play doesn't always make it clear who is who at times. So, if all that sounds...

Review of Benidorm Live at Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes

I arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre to see this touring stage version of ITV comedy hit Benidorm with a distinct lack of knowledge. Having never seen the show, my information stretched as far as knowing it was set in a holiday resort in Spain (the title helps there), and that the humour generally resorted to the cruder end of the spectrum. However, having graced the screens for ten years, it was clear that Derren Litten's show had garnered quite a following, and indeed it was clear from the reception of the audience on the night, that this following was pretty much filling the theatre. The plot, such as it is for this stage show, is very much drafted from an episode of Fawlty Towers , and made a great deal more adult with its humour. The hotel manager, Joyce Temple-Savage (a sharp performance by Sherrie Hewson) gets wind that a hotel inspector is in, and the scene is set for seeking them out and all the obvious cases of mistaken identity. It's thin and doesn't fill ...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

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