New Christmas show from Alnwick Playhouse, Maltings Berwick &
Queen’s Hall Arts streaming online
Christmas with the Hobs
Online
Saturday 12th – Thursday 31st December 2020
This December, three Northumberland venues, Alnwick Playhouse,
Maltings Berwick and Queen’s Hall Arts, are teaming up with CaroleW Productions
to create Christmas with the Hobs, a brand new festive animation
made in Northumberland for audiences everywhere to experience at home, and in
schools, hospitals and care homes.
It’s
Christmas Eve at Nana’s house and Tyler and Eliza are waiting for Dad to pick
them up to start the celebrations. But when plans change, they must work
together to create a Christmas to remember, with the help of their newfound
friends, the Hobs! Join them as they discover what really makes Christmas
special, with mishaps and mayhem along the way.
Written by Becci Sharrock, Christmas with the
Hobs is illustrated by Sheila Graber who animated the
children’s TV series Paddington in the 1980s, with original music by
North East singer songwriter Bridie Jackson. The cast are Joseph
Casling, Jude Nelson, Lewis Jobson, Viktoria Kay and Jacqueline
Phillips, who will also direct.
l-r Carole Wears, Viktoria Kay, Lewis Jobson, Joseph Casling,
Jacqueline Phillips, Jude Nelson
Katy Taylor, Queen’s Hall Arts Artistic Director said, “We’re
delighted to be working in partnership with Alnwick Playhouse and Berwick
Maltings to create a wonderful new animation for Christmas. This is the first
time we’ve commissioned an animation and we are so lucky to be working with a
fantastically talented team of artists and performers. All three venues in
Northumberland were successful in our applications for emergency funding from
Arts Council England last month and this has enabled us to try something new
and make something truly magical for our audiences this Christmas.
“We know that freelance performers, technicians and artists have
really struggled while venues have been closed, and many people have been
unable to access government financial support so it’s vital that we do our bit
to help. Christmas with the Hobs gave us an opportunity to bring
together North East arts professionals to create a magical Christmas gift from
Northumberland. We hope you enjoy it!”
Viktoria Kay
Becci Sharrock was inspired to start writing after her first
experience of working in theatre, ushering on The Pitmen Painters at
Live Theatre. Her first producing commission - Waiting for Angus -
was a co-commission from Maltings Berwick, Theatre Royal Newcastle and ARC
Stockton, through the Bridging the Gap programme. She has since
worked with Northern Stage, Theatre Sans Frontières and New Writing North. She
also runs the Hexham young writers’ group in partnership with Queen’s Hall Arts
and Hexham Book Festival, which Joseph Casling who plays Tyler in the show took
part in.
Jude Nelson
Becci said, “I was so excited
to be asked to write Christmas with the Hobs. It feels like a chance
to spread a little bit of Christmas magic, which we need this year more than
ever. With such a crack team of creatives working on the production,
audiences are in for a real treat. I hope they enjoy meeting the Hobs as
much as I enjoyed writing them and fall in love with their cheeky personalities,
the naughty and the nice sides!”
Joseph Casling
Christmas with the Hobs will be streamed online from 12-31 December. Tickets are free but must be booked via venues’ websites. Donations to support future commissions and creative projects in Northumberland are welcome.
Photos:
Jonathan Bradley
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.