The mysterious disappearance of former Prime Minister Harold Holt has been intertwined into Grainery Theatre's latest production.
The I'll be home for Christmas festive musical, which begins at Newcastle's Civic Theatre on Saturday, has been described as a journey back to the swinging sixties.
It is set against the backdrop of Mr Holt's last year alive as he contends with hippies, spies and people on a quest to discover the meaning of Christmas.
The 90-minute production is an original script written by local playwright Theo Rule and features a cast of almost 60 and a suite of live musicians.
Mr Rule, who is also the director, said the musical would appeal to "all ages".
"It's a Christmas musical for the whole family and it surrounds the disappearance of Harold Holt in 1967," he said.
"He disappeared on the 17th of December and his memorial was three days before Christmas.
"The premise of the show is the prime minister trying to write a Christmas address to the nation to regain some popularity. "He is asking the question, 'what does Christmas mean to Australia?'.
"We tie that up with a bit of history and we also take a fair bit of creative license. We explore the meaning of Christmas in a fun, musical, festive way."
Mr Rule described the show as a "jukebox musical" with plenty of 1960s era music from the likes of The Seekers, The Beach Boys and Bee Gees, along with traditional Christmas carols.
Grainery Theatre's I'll be home for Christmas opens at the Civic Theatre on Saturday from 7pm. Performances will also be held on Sunday at 4pm and 7pm.
Tickets are only $10 and can be booked via Ticketek.
