The Twelve Plays of Christmas
As the Festive season approaches, an original comedy Christmas show with sketchesriffing off theatre, popular culture and well-loved franchises including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Disney, 50 Shades of Grey and Game of Thrones promises to deliver a festive spread with something for everyone at Sydney’s Tap Gallery.
Under the direction of Benita de Wit (with additional direction by NIDA graduate Pierce Wilcox), The Twelve Plays of Christmas will combine sketches, songs and comedy penned by some of Sydney writers, actors and comedians including Luke Carson, Darryn King (Arts & Culture Editor, Time Out Sydney), comedian and musician Laurence Rosier Staines (A Czar is Born, Richardson and Swadling Face an Execution) and musical director Andy Peterson.
“The Twelve Plays of Christmas is a variety show in 12 acts. We countdown through 12 sketches, scenes, short plays and songs. It's a very silly hour and a bit,” director / producer Benita de Wit told Stage Whispers.
Where did the idea come from?
“I love the holiday season and I wanted to make something that I would want to watch at Christmas. It's inspired by summery festive lunches and terrible childhood Christmas pageants.”
What has the rehearsal process been like?
“It's been a really epic undertaking as the show involves all new material. We have read through and edited a lot of different versions of each of the scripts and swapped parts round to make things work. We just printed out our 'final' script today with less than a week to go. We have already made edits to it. That's the great thing about new work. You can play around and find what's funny and add jokes or pull them out if they're not working.”
What are you most excited about?
“I can't wait to get this show in front of an audience. A lot of what we've done in the rehearsal room is so absurd that I can't wait to see how people respond. It's also a very different show to anything I've done before. It's immersive and interactive and really pushes the boundaries of what sketch comedy can do.”
Where did you find the performers?
“The cast for this show came from all over. I initially posted on Facebook that I wanted to make an original show and most of the writers and performers now working on the show are friends who responded to that post. In the cast there's a performer I used to write sketch comedy with at uni, a banjo-playing stand-up comedian, a few singers, improvisors, an actor/tap dancer and one of the writers working on the show. The skills they bring to the show are so diverse and that's why it works. Everyone has something brilliant to put on the table.”
What can audiences expect at the show?
“A lot of fun, a bit of alcohol, some naughty jokes, some improvisation, music, festive props and a whole lot of Christmas crackers.”
The cast includes Jeremy Yao (Ronnie Johns Half Hour, Hamster Wheel), Liam Bradbery, James Buckingham (William and Sparkles), Luke Carson, Aimee Timmins (Pippin), Nicole Wineberg (Three Sisters) and stand-up comedian Alice Fraser.
Wednesday 19th December, 8pm
Thursday 20th December, 8pm
Friday 21st December, 8pm
Saturday 22nd December, 8pm
Sunday 23rd December, 3pm
Gallery 2, TAP Gallery
http://www.trybooking.com/CEKG
or tickets available at the door from 7pm (cash only)