Top Five Bristol Christmas Shows

This Christmas marked a very busy time for Bristol's stages with what seemed to be a record number of shows in various venues across the city. I saw some brilliant work over the festive period and it left me feeling proud to be part of such a vibrant and thriving scene. The following are my top five Christmas shows from 2011.

5. Coram Boy (Bristol Old Vic and Colston Hall)
Dir. Melly Still
4. Home Alonely (The Wardrobe Theatre)
Dir. Chris Collier
3. Good Clown Bad Clown (Bristol Old Vic)
Dir. John Retallack
2. The Morpeth Carol (Sleepdogs, Bristol Old Vic)
Dir. Tanuja Amarasuriya
1. Cinderella (Travelling Light and Tobacco Factory)
Dir. Sally Cookson

Ella and the Prince. Image: Farrows Creative

Cinderella: A Fairytale was a truly magic production; a brilliantly subverted, playful version of a classic tale told by a wonderful cast and penned by my old friend and collaborator Adam Peck. Other productions I didn't manage to see included Bath Time by Toby Hulse, Peter Pan at the Hippodrome starring David Hasselhoff (...), Scrooge at the city farm by Dark Stuff and Knock Twice for Yes by Angelhair Productions. As well as my own humble offering in the form of the two-part Christmas Special of Closer Each Day an improvised Soap Opera at the Wardrobe Theatre.