Call me Scrooge, but I’m not a fan of Christmas shows. They’re often too sweet, too slight, too full of carols. But Chris Bush has a talent for transforming potentially sentimental projects into powerful pieces of theatre. That’s exactly what she did with last year’s Pericles at the National Theatre, and she does it again with The Last Noël. Here’s a play that features a carol-filled family gathering, underpinned with sorrow, yet it never feels manipulative or predictable. It’s as welcome as a glass of mulled wine: warming, comforting and with just the right amount of kick.
Against Alison Neighbour’s homely set, and accompanied by Matthew Winkworth on the piano, a family gathers for Christmas. While they wait for the stragglers to arrive, they tell stories and sing carols – only they’ve been rewritten with special family memories threaded in. The Night Before Christmas, as told by student Tess (Anna Crichlow), becomes about a seminal night at the pub; and uncle Mike (Dyfrig Morris) delivers a stirring rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, suffused with alcohol-tinged memories from a now-distant family wedding.
Jonathan Humphrey’s delicately crafted production is full of quirky details that are very much this family’s own. There are flashes of something darker, too. Grandma (Annie Wensak) slips away to rustle up some snacks and her face floods with sorrow; uncle Mike is halted in his tracks as he remembers a long-lost love. We’re hit with a curious combination of hope and regret that’s classic Christmas. You can almost hear the audience recalling their own family traditions, impatient – and just a little bit anxious – about getting home for Christmas.
At the Old Fire Station, Oxford, until 23 December.
