Christmas Dinner @ Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh
Robert Alan Evans' wacky but heartfelt show at the Lyceum is exactly the Christmas tonic we need
It’s Christmas Eve, but the lights of the theatre are down and the stage is bare. Just the bah humbug stage manager, Lesley (Elicia Daly), is left doing the final lock-up while everyone else has headed off to the pub. The theatre is missing its Christmas story and its pipes are audibly grumbling in distress, like an empty belly craving its next feast.
But fear not. While COVID left the stage boards un-trodden last Christmas, this time the charismatic spirits of the theatre – Madame Lady (Florence Odumosu), Billy (Ronan McMahon), Fruity (Richard Conlon) and Bird Girl (Sita Pieraccini, who shines on stage and brings lots of the humour and heartfelt moments despite being limited to chirrups) – have other plans. They’re in search of a tale to tell which will rejuvenate the bones of the theatre and bring the lights we’ve all missed so much back to the stage. They just need to find the right story.
While Christmas Dinner, written by Robert Alan Evans and directed by Gill Robertson, has a slightly more wacky than wonderful start (a dancing nut roast, carrot, sprout and duck chase Lesley around the stage and leave us understanding why she is literally pulling the plug), the proof of this feast is in the pudding. By the final curtain, this new story finds its heart and touches the audiences’ in turn.
Christmas Dinner is the fresh tonic we need after a year of lockdown-test-vaccination-repeat. The show takes a whistle-stop trip through the classic Christmas shows of the past, from Jack and the Beanstalk to Hansel and Gretel, with comedic effect – cue Hansel and Gretel tossing whole slices of bread down on stage and Lesley angrily sweeping them away. The stage is awash with an explosion of stories, as the theatre flicks through its back catalogue but casts them aside with a shake of its rather grand head.
The story truly takes off, however, when Lesley’s tale takes central stage and we learn about Little Spark (McMahon captures the joy and mischief of the little girl exceptionally well) and her love for her lost grandmother. We find out why Lesley’s Christmas heart has frozen – and thankfully her new friends help it to melt.
And just like that, the theatre has found what keeps its heart ticking – sharing stories and bringing a little bit of magic, surprise and festive joy. Welcome back Christmas theatre, we’ve missed you too.
Christmas Dinner is at Lyceum Theatre until Sun 2 Jan
https://lyceum.org.uk/whats-on/production/christmas-dinner