There’s still time to book the best shows in Oxfordshire READ OUT TOP 20+ FESTIVE PICKS HERE And here are our TOP FIVE REVIEWS to help you choose!
Jack and The Beanstalk, Oxford Playhouse until Jan 7. Director Toby Hulse has really upped his game this year to bring a fresh, entertaining panto and bursting with new characters. READ ABOUT IT HERE Whipping along at a cracking pace, there is never a dull moment and the casting is genius. Throw in a faulty ice cream maker, an environmental giant who resembles Monty Don, Eileen the Cow, a weather machine and obviously a beanstalk, and it’s a winner. A stonking panto that had us screaming with excitement, crying with laughter, singing on our feet, shouting in agitation and rocking out with Hendrix The Horrible. It’s worth it alone for the ‘guitar off’. READ OUR FULL REVIEW HERE Book here https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/jack-the-beanstalk
A Christmas Carol, Creation at North Wall until Jan 6. Creation attacks Dickens’ Victorian morality tale with gusto, howling ghouls, creeking coffins, Justin Bieber songs, humour, horror and sangfroid. Writer and director Gari Jones takes this tale of redemption and shakes it forcefully, but whenever it gets a bit tense, Creation blasts in with a witty exchange, song, dance or joke, changing the tempo with bawdiness and innuendo, and ensuring that the script whips along at a cracking pace, keeping us on the edge of our seats.. Great fun, edgy and unique as ever, albeit not for the very young, Creation’s A Christmas Carol offers a perfect family alternative to panto, while ensuring that the Victorian classic is as relevant as ever. READ OUR REVIEW HERE TO BOOK CLICK HERE
Cinderella, Chippy Theatre until Jan 14. What a riot of fun from the word go, riding along through the leafy rain forest to the small town of Santa Maria de las Orejas de Soplillo (St Maria with the Sticky Out Ears), where we meet Cinderella, a staunch environmentalist trying to stop her nasty stepmother Madre Monte (Pepa Duarte) from cutting down all the trees. There are two Latino dames, endless fiestas and carnivals, rain forests, colour, noise, an evil banana plantation owner, some stellar delivery donkeys, huge spiders and a sound environmental message running throughout and it was an absolute scream from start to finish. READ OUR REVIEW HERE CLICK THE LINK HERE TO BOOK.
Glacier, OFS, until December 23. Alison Spittle‘s new play is based around three women who meet accidentally at a lake on Christmas Day. READ ABOUT IT HERE Set against a backdrop of historic news headlines, their lives pan out over the next 14 years through pregnancy and heartache, bereavement and loss, as this sharp, sparky script rattles along at a cracking pace. Directed by Madelaine Moore this is a stark reminder that while Christmas is traditionally a time for family and friends, for others it can be a lonely, fractious and difficult time of year. You’ll emerge brighter and warmer, inside and out through humour, a few home truths and some bad Christmas jumpers. READ OUR REVIEW HERE. CLICK THE LINK TO BOOK HERE.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, New Theatre, until December 30 Following a record-breaking stint in the West End, a sold out tour and award-winning film, the smash-hit musical has landed in Oxford for the festive season. And what a Christmas offering. Set in Sheffield, 16 year-old Jamie New has set his sights on being a Drag Queen. But sprinkle a bit of stardust, and a cast that had us whooping, cheering and dancing along, and the gritty, emotional and uplifting coming-of-age story takes off. Rivalling the likes of Billy Elliot, Kinky Boots and The Full Monty, Jamie battles through the school bullies, issues with his father, and constant discouragement, to emerge like a swan. And the entire audience goes on his emotional journey with him, urging Jamie on to the grand finale as the musical’s message about kindness, friendship and diversity reaches a crescendo, dressed in an impossibly high pair of patent red heels. REVIEW CLICK THE LINK TO BOOK HERE
