Christmas Cratchits - A new play with songs.

Christmas Cratchits is a fun piece of family theatre with a unique difference.  Every time the play is performed, it will be different.  And it will be different because each show has a section written and performed by a group of people from the town or village hosting that performance.

Playwright Jim Woodland has written most of Christmas Cratchits.   It looks at the aftermath of A Christmas Carol and asks what happened to the Cratchit family after Scrooge’s transformation from miser to Mr Generous.

Jim’s story, presented and produced by Blaize, stops short and, with perfect panto timing, the plot is taken up by the local group.  The professional actors have no idea what each group is going to do but the groups have been working in secret on their section for the last couple of months.  Surprises are definitely in store!

Details

Christmas Cratchits was performed over three nights at The Gate and then undertook a short tour of venues on the rural touring circuits of East Riding, North and North East Lincolnshire for ArtERY and LiveLincs respectively.

A play written by  Jim Woodland.

The Cast

• Charlotte Donnelly
• John Barber
• Andrew McGillan
• Gary Bridgens
  

The Team

• Writer: Jim Woodland
• Songs & Music: Jim Woodland
• Set: Simon Pell
• Director: Mike Bettison
• Administration: Ellen Thorpe

Nine professional workshop leaders ran a total of 66 sessions with 8 different community groups, involving 64 people attending a total of nearly 800 times.  This was a key factor in assisting the groups to prepare their section of the play in the months prior to the performance (the nature of which was kept secret from the acting company).  The play had 8 performances in small scale venues, was seen by 429 people and the project came in on budget.

There was a huge range in the style and content created, including

• a comical rendition, with some character work, of 12 Days of Christmas (Actaway)

• a visiting TV crew which is attacked by a band of zombies (Electric)

• a humbug-induced crazy breakdance session by Santa and his elves (Helping Hands)

• a poignant exploration of memory and stories, with their own songs (Old Parcels Office)

• a group of carol singers arrive at the house and find a story book of familiar tales but given a new, macabre twist.  They discover they are in a future of infinite possibilities and the next story in the book is about them.  Not daring to read to the end, they creep away (Purple Squirrels)

• three different groups, all members of the Cratchit family, thought they had the crucial last page of Scrooge’s will, but found out that they didn’t.(Driffield School)

• a musical look at the dangers that could occur if it was Christmas every day.(Group 62)

• a take on members of the Cratchit and Scrooge families 100 years hence, in charge of the environment, social services and religion.(Habrough)

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