As part of our Great Big Christmas Show Giveaway, Daily Info are giving away tickets to The Royal Christmas Pudding at The Story Museum. We sat down with the creatives behind this show and see what they have in store for audiences this winter.
Daily Info: What does The Story Museum have in store this Christmas?
Story Museum: This Christmas we're bringing families a musical feast of stories and song with our festive show The Royal Christmas Pudding. It features original songs and traditional stories all mixed together with some festive magic in our Woodshed theatre. The show is aimed at our ages 5+, but is perfect for families looking to enjoy a Christmas treat all together.
DI: What's The Royal Christmas Pudding all about?
SM: The show is about brother and sister Ben and Sally, whose Dad was the royal cook. Sally has always dreamt of following in her father's footsteps but due a mix up, her music-obsessed brother Ben is given the job instead. Not only is Ben useless at cooking, he also manages to misplace the royal Christmas pudding, risking the wrath of the King and Queen, not to mention all the wishes that went into the mixture. After a lot of squabbling and falling out, Ben and Sally eventually call upon the stories, songs and lessons their Dad taught them, and realise that the only way to make their wishes come true is to pull together.
DI: 2022 has been a busy year for the Royal family. Was it intentional to do a show focusing on the Royal cook or was their luck in the timing?
SM: We actually the idea for this show whilst performing last year's show Suddenly A Star. It all started with an article I read about how the tradition of a homemade Christmas pudding where the whole family stirs the mixture and make a wish is dying out in the UK. I wanted to create a show that celebrated this tradition and maybe even reintroduced it to some households, as it was something that I really looked forward to as a child. We decided to make it a 'Royal' pudding to add a bit of jeopardy. If something goes wrong with a pudding it's not that big a deal, but if it's the King's pudding then the stakes are much higher. The King and the Queen in our show bare no resemblance to any of the real Royal family, which given how things have panned out in the last few months is definitely for the best!
DI: When approaching a Christmas show what are the key things a production has to get right?
SM: The Story Museum has always incorporated traditional stories in our shows and this production is no exception. But I think it's also really important to have a little sprinkle of panto magic at Christmas, even if the show isn't a pantomime (and ours definitely isn't). That idea of acknowledging and welcoming the audience that panto does so brilliantly is definitely part of the DNA of this show. All the action takes part in the kitchen as that's where you find the warmest of welcomes, the funniest jokes and, most importantly, the best stories. There's moments where audience members are invited up on stage as well as lots of chances to join in, to sing, and to dance. To use a bit of a cliché, Christmas is a time for families, so I think a really good Christmas show should be something that several generations in a family can enjoy together on the same level. I think that's something that we've managed to achieve with this show.
The Royal Christmas Pudding runs at The Story Museum from 30th November 2022 to 1st January 2023 and tickets can be found on their website.
Check out Daily Info's Great Big Chistmas Show Giveaway throughout November for the chance to win tickets to some of the best festive productions.
