A range of family shows are on offer for the festive season in Scotland's principal cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Amongst these Tron Theatre presents Miracle On 34 Parnie Street, a new festive piece written and directed by Johnny McKnight.
He has previously written Aganeza Scrooge for Tron Theatre and more recently the CATS Nominated Best New Play A Perfect Stroke for Òran Mòr.
McKnight will also play Dame Kristine Cagney Kringle in this Glasgae take on Christmas classic Miracle On 34th Street.
Sharing the stage with him will be Julie Wilson Nimmo, known as Balamory’s Miss Hoolie, Gavin Jon Wright, last at the Tron in Scenes Unseen, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland student Michelle Hopewell making her professional début and Darren Brownlie, who also choreographs.
Composition and musical direction is by Ross Brown.
At North Edinburgh Arts, family audiences can see Licketyspit’s production of Hare & Tortoise, which has an accompanying Hare & Tortoise Art, Rhymes and Stories Exhibition.
This adaptation of Aesop’s fable is by Virginia Radcliffe and Deborah Arnott and is set in the Scottish countryside; it looks at the fiercely competitive relationship between the Hare and the Tortoise and has audiences wearing customised ‘Supporter’s Hats’, cheering on Hare or Tortoise.
Virginia Radcliffe, also Licketyspit artistic director, directs Buchan Lennon as Hare and Johnny Austin as Tortoise. Original music is by Tim Brinkhurst with songs written by Radcliffe and Arnott.
For a similar aged audience—three to six years—is Glasgow's Citizens Theatre's production of Eric The Elf’s Chaotic Christmas.
This is a new fun-filled show by Andy McGregor, a musical adventure about an elf who finds the future of Christmas rests on his small shoulders.
Whilst Eric The Elf’s Chaotic Christmas plays the Circle Studio space, in the main house the Citz presents Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol in an adaptation by Neil Bartlett to be directed by Dominic Hill.
Cliff Burnett, recently on the Citizens stage as Polonius in Hamlet, will lead a large ensemble cast including Laura Cairns, Citizens Theatre Actor Interns Cameron Crighton and Martin Donaghy, Cate Hamer, John Kielty, Stephanie McGregor and John O’Mahony.
CATS nominated Nikola Kodjabashia provides sound and music.
A Christmas Carol is suitable for those aged six and over. BSL interpreted, audio described and captioned performances have been programmed.
- Miracle On 34 Parnie is at Tron Theatre from 28 November
- A Christmas Carol plays Citizens Theatre from 29 November
- Hare & Tortoise is at North Edinburgh Arts from 1 December
- Eric The Elf’s Chaotic Christmas plays the Citizens Theatre Circle Studio from 11 December