By Graham Hiley.
Chichester Festival Youth Theatre could hardly have picked a better way to celebrate their 40th anniversary than with this superb production of A Boy Called Christmas.
It can sometimes be easy to flick through a What’s On guide and skip past youth drama and dismiss it as being just for family and friends. That would be a huge mistake.
And it would be all too simple – and quite wrong – to pile on praise just to make the kids feel good. The bigger tribute is to judge this against the high standards of Chichester’s many excellent professional productions.
This was right up there with any of them – to such an extent that for most of this magical musical you forget that these are young amateurs ranging in age from 10 to 22.
The acting was flawless with every one of the 71-strong cast playing their part from the leading actors right through to the ensemble who took just as much pride in their performances.
Of course, the focus falls on the main characters and ultimately A Boy Called Christmas was dominated by a boy called Devon Sandell. As Nikolas, the 14-year-old was on stage for almost the full 100 minutes and did not put a foot wrong.
Both his singing and speaking were superb, getting the delivery just right in terms of the emotion, humour and stage presence as he embarks on a quest to find the mythical village of Elfhelm.
He follows his father (Dominic Lacey) who has left him in the “care” of his Aunt Carlotta poisonously played for laughs as a pantomime villain by Laila Fletcher. He is accompanied by his talking mouse Miika brilliantly brought to life by puppeteer Olivia Dickens and by a reindeer Blitzen (Alexander Solly).
By now the clues are beginning to fall into place. The story of the origin of Santa Claus builds gradually, faithfully following Matt Haig’s beloved children’s novel adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson who also contributed some of the lyrics to Tom Brady’s songs which were both catchy and moving.
The highlight was Nothing But The Truth delightfully delivered by the Truth Pixie (Daisy Chapman) with great energy, passion and fun though the penultimate number Joy and Goodwill ran it close – as well as summing up the ethos of the evening – belief in kindness to all.
Despite the attempts of Father Vodol (Reuben McGreevy) to be tough on goodwill and tough on the causes of goodwill, Nikolas defeats both the mayor and a grumpy troll, hilariously created by Jack Walter-Nelson.
But it is not just the acting which gives this the feel of a professional production. The scenery is evocative, the costumes lavish. And the use of colour in the lighting really adds to the atmosphere thanks to the skills of the 25 members of the Technical Youth Theatre backstage.
It all adds up to a great evening’s entertainment and the uplifting finale perfectly sets the tone for Christmas. So, if you want a break from traditional panto (Oh yes you do!) then check out A Boy Called Christmas at Chichester’s Festival Theatre until December 31.
Tickets available from www.cft.org.uk.
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