Dark Woods, Deep Snow. A Grimm Tale for Christmas, new artistic director Lorne Campbell’s first Christmas show since taking over at Northern Stage in Newcastle, will be “exciting, a bit scary, important and unpredictable… a Christmas of joyful mayhem.”
Heading the cast are Paul Charlton, the Bishop Auckland born actor who is best known as one third of comedy trio The Ginge, the Geordie and the Geek and Gary Kitching, who starred in last year’s Christmas show The Borrowers.
Abbi Green and Helen Goalen (better known as RashDash—stars of last year’s Northern Stage Edinburgh Festival programme at St Stephens) will choreograph the show as well as joining the cast.
Live music comes from Rebecca Wilkie (who is also musical director and composer) and Scottish singer and multi-instrumentalist Annie Grace, who went down a storm in Bloody Great Border Ballad at St Stephen’s this summer.
Dark Woods, Deep Snow. A Grimm Tale will be written by Chris Thorpe, a founding member of winning Unlimited and Artistic Associate of live art / theatre company Third Angel. As a writer, he has enjoyed critical success with two hit shows at Edinburgh—There Has Possibly Been An Incident (Manchester Royal Exchange/Latitude Festival) and I Wish I Was Lonely (Edinburgh Fringe). This is his first work for children.
The set will be designed by Linbury Prize-winning designer Garance Marneur who last Christmas designed the set for children’s show The Prince and the Pauper at the Unicorn Theatre. Other notable productions include Marat/Sade for the RSC and work with Roxanna Silbert (previously of Paines Plough and the RSC and now Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre).
Dark Woods, Deep Snow. A Grimm Tale runs from 2 to 28 December.