Get Santa!
From: Wednesday, 1st December 2010
To: Saturday, 15 January 2011
Our Review: 
Your Reviews:
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Synopsis
It’s Christmas Eve but Holly isn’t happy. All she’s ever wanted from Santa is to meet her real Dad for the first time. And every time, Santa’s failed to deliver, bringing lots of useless presents instead. Well, Holly’s had enough. This year she has a plan. She’s going to wait up and trap Santa when he arrives and get from him the only present she’s ever wanted. But that’s only the beginning of the adventure: add in a very dim Elf called Bumblehole, a machine that changes Families and a Teddy Bear with an evil masterplan and you have the ingredients for a magical, musical and downright mischievous Christmas Show with a fresh moral.
Our Review:
Michael Coveney - 14 December 2010
Santa’s going to be kidnapped: the chimney’s blocked off and he’ll come through the skylight, fall in a pile of crunchy crisps, stick his head in a bucket, put his hand in the glue, swallow some whisky and get tangled up in the Christmas tree.
That’s the idea, anyway, in Anthony Neilson’s surreal seasonal nightmare, with songs and music by Nick Powell. Ten year-old Holly (Imogen Doel) wants her real dad back and she wants Santa to do something about it. Stuff the presents.
Her mum (Gabriel Quigley) has married a dog (Robert Stocks) – he really does have a waggly tail and a shiny nose, and he’s decorating the tree with strips of bacon. And Grandma (Amanda Hadingue) is putting a brave, carolling face on things, with the help of a close-harmony chorus in Santa hats and woolly jumpers.
This may not sound like your typical Royal Court play for Christmas or indeed any time; until you remember this venue’s histo...
Latest User Review
Gareth James - 30 December 2010:
When I heard edgy playwright Anthony Neilson was doing a Christmas show for the Royal Court – their first - I thought they may well have lost the plot; but I couldn’t resist taking my 10-year old godson and as much as I like traditional things like panto, this is such a breath of fresh air, and so Royal Court! Holly wants her real dad (who she’s never met) for Christmas but Santa keeps ignoring her request so she hatches a plot to ensure he takes her seriously and what unfolds is positively surreal. Her step-dad is a dog, her real dad inhabits a Teddy (or is he?), Santa’s son Bumblehole comes in through the skylight whilst Santa uses the traditional chimney. In the second half, Christmas keeps repeating itself until the spell is broken and all is revealed. Neilson’s trademark absurdity is all over it, but it’s as accessible to youngsters as it is fun for adults. Miriam Buether’s set and costumes establish the tone brilliantly and the performances are all excellent. You can believe Gabriel Quigley’s Mum is daft enough to marry a dog, Amanda Hadingue is a deliciously batty Gran, David Sterne combines grumpy and cool as Santa and it’s impossible not to love Tom Godwin’s hapless Bumblehole. Anchoring it all, though, is a superb Holly from Imogen Doel (her professional debut no less!) who captures the contradictions of teenage years so perfectly (something tells me Neilson may well have teenage kids, so good is this characterisation). Even Nick Powell’s songs sound surreal! A wonderful alternative to panto that the 58-year old and the 10-year old both loved in equal measure. ...
Creative
Anthony Neilson (Author)
Nick Powell (Story by Anthony Neilson and ) (Music)
Coutts (Corporate Sponsor)
Royal Court Theatre (Producer)
Anthony Neilson (Director)
Miriam Buether (Design)
Chahine Yavroyan (Lighting)
Nick Powell (Sound)
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