[Ad- gifted experience] We do get along to a lot of pantomimes during the holiday season, but Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas at the Garrick Theatre is a Christmas-themed play that doesn’t have any aspect of panto in it – an entertaining break from the traditional! This play is for a younger audience, primarily engaging people Robin’s page and younger. With that said, myself, Amelia and even Kai were interested in a few of the tricks and experiments that were on display.
Maddie Moate has found herself in the elf workshop, helping out as an intern. Two actual elves, one in charge of experiments and one in charge of elf and safety join her, to get ready for Mrs. Clause’s Christmas party. Mrs. Clause video calls the show, displaying on a large digital screen on the back of the stage, where she is portrayed as someone who might be a bit scary! The audience are encouraged to shout out and help the elves solve all of the issues before the party!
A tree needs a light bulb fixed, the power goes out, none of the Christmas crackers are popping, the kitchen is full of a gross smell… There is really a lot to do! We quite enjoyed all of the singing and actual science in Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas! The digital screen explained how electricity moved from one bulb to another, it showed the elf and safety procedure, and projected what Maddie was doing on a small table, so we could watch her take apart a Christmas Cracker and explain it. There was just a lot of fun in these experiments. The live fire and smoke rings into the audience really impressed us all, even the older two who very much knew a lot of how things worked.
Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas is full of energy, with lots of different problems being solved one after another. It feels full of energy! The actors do a great job of being funny and engaging. I very much liked the pace of all of the different interactive bits, which kept everyone focused, as this is a smaller show at an hour long with no break in the middle. We all came away learning something and it was great to do so in such an educational play.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!