It's nearly Christmas and - as you all surely know by now - there are lots of fab shows happening for children over the festive season.
One such show is 'Prancer The Dancer' at Shoreditch Town Hall, which sees shy would-be dancer Prancer trying to find the confidence to dance in public.
The show, by Brighton's Marlborough Productions, features a time travel element and a trip to Blackpool's Tower Ballroom, so naturally I was intrigued. I spoke to Prancer, ahead of opening night.
CLICK HERE to read this Caro Meets interview.
'Prancer The Dancer' is on at Shoreditch Town Hall from 20-24 Dec. Read more about the show and book tickets here.
As I type, we are veering headlong into what constitutes the Christmas break for many people, and that includes us, which means that this week's TW Weekly will be the last one of the year. That being the case, we need to offer up some cultural tips for the Christmas and New Year period.
The fact is, though, that most of the stuff we want you to see over the next fortnight has already been recommended in a previous edition of our Three To Sees. So this leaves us with only one thing to do - and to be fair, it's a thing we do every year anyway - and that's to do a recap of all the things we've tipped that are still on over the next couple of weeks.
And there are, of course, about a million family shows. Well, slightly fewer than that, but there's certainly a long list of them. Some of them end before Christmas Day, but you still have time. I'm thinking about 'Snow' at ArtsDepot, for ages two to five (pictured); 'Snowed In' at The Place, for ages five plus; and Hoxton Hall panto 'The Wizard Of Oz': all three run until 24 Dec.
If that's too soon for you, there are other family shows that are running until 31 Dec, such as 'Five Children And It' at the Tabard Theatre, 'The Dinosaur Show' at Southwark Playhouse, 'Alice In Wonderland' at Brixton House, 'The Wind In The Wilton's' at Wilton's Music Hall, 'Pinocchio' at The Unicorn Theatre, and Hackney Empire's pantomime 'Mother Goose'.
If it's a New Year treat for little ones you're looking to book into, we have myriad suggestions. There's 'Grandad, Me… And Teddy Too' at Polka Theatre until 29 Jan, 'Jonny Feathers And The Rock N Roll Pigeon' at Riverside Studios until 8 Jan, 'The Smeds And The Smoos' at ArtsDepot until 2 Jan, plus 'The Pixie And The Pudding' and 'We're Going On A Bear Hunt', both of which are on at Little Angel Theatre until 29 Jan.
Somewhat older children may prefer 'Crackers - A Festive Family Farce' at Polka Theatre until 15 Jan, circus fun at Revel Puck Circus's 'The Wing Scuffle Spectacular' in Beckenham Place Park until 8 Jan, or one of a clutch of pantomimes: Sleeping Trees' mashup 'Little Red Robin Hood' at Battersea Arts Centre until 8 Jan; Greenwich Theatre's 'Robin Hood', on until 8 Jan; and Charles Court Opera's 'Rumpelstiltskin' at the Park Theatre until 14 Jan.
Now let's talk about some grown up fare. I'll start with the barely needed acknowledgement that we've recommended about ten thousand 'A Christmas Carol' inspired shows this year. I am not going to mention them here, but instead direct you to the entire article we did about them all last week. Some of them may have finished their runs by now, but most of them are still on.
So, on to Scroogeless festive shows, which include comedy horror 'The Grotto' at Drayton Arms Theatre until 30 Dec, 'Christmas Tales' at The White Bear Theatre on 19 and 20 Dec, 'Die Hard' adaptation 'Yippee Ki Yay' at King's Head Theatre until 31 Dec, and 'Pride & Prejudice - The Gay Panto' at White Bear Theatre until 23 Dec.
And now, for those of you who are completely and utterly fed up of having to watch and read about festive things, here are some shows running over the next fortnight that have little or nothing to do with Christmas.
If you fancy something funny, both Britney's 'Friends And Nothing More' and 'Lesbian Space Crime' are on at Soho Theatre until 22 Dec. And if you're a musical lover, you've still got time to see the Rita Hayworth musical at The Cockpit, as it runs until 23 Dec.
Meanwhile, there are a number of great theatrical runs ongoing. 'The Wife Of Willesden' runs at Kiln Theatre into February, 'Wickies: The Vanishing Men Of Eilean Mor' is on at Park Theatre until 31 Dec, The Orange Tree Theatre's staging of 'Arms And The Man' plays until 14 Jan, while 'Fagin's Last Hour' is on at the Old Red Lion Theatre on 19, 21 and 22 Dec.
Finally, I'm just going to tell you about three events we haven't mentioned before, so, basically, one last set of Threes To See!
Firstly, more kids stuff: Comedy Club 4 Kids are doing one of their fabulous shows - this time with a Christmas twist - at Greenwich Theatre on 23 Dec, while Playground Theatre hosts 'Baby Knees Up Christmas', an interactive event for tots and their families with lots of music and singing.
And finally, a post-Christmas grown up treat: 'One Man Poe', a fab "marathon of the macabre" featuring three classic tales by the renowned "godfather of gothic horror" that begins a run on 27 Dec.
And that's it. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2023.
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At TW:CULTURE we champion the best in fringe theatre, comedy and culture. Year round, we pick the best shows happening in London and online each week, providing handy Three To See recommendations and interviewing the people behind those productions. Plus each summer we also cover the biggest cultural event in the world: The Edinburgh Festival. © UnLimited Media, a division of 3CM Enterprises Ltd UnLimited Media, Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX t: 020 7099 9050 (editorial) 020 7099 9060 (sales) Send London press releases to TWlondon@unlimitedmedia.co.uk Send Edinburgh press releases to TWedinburgh@unlimitedmedia.co.uk You can read our Privacy & Data Policy here publishing@unlimitedmedia.co.uk | complaints@unlimitedmedia.co.uk |
