Lyric life

Today we are delighted to announce the return of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas, adapted by Pins and Needles. This production has given children and families festive joy at the Lyric for the last eight years and this year will be making a very special return in a digital partnership with the Oxford Playhouse, Tobacco Factory Theatres Bristol and Wales Millennium Centre.

Audiences from all four venues will be able to purchase a ticket to access a high quality digital recording of the production, available to view from Wednesday 09 December until Thursday 24 December 2020. Tickets are available from £10, with all the venues providing free tickets to selected local outreach and community groups that they work with.

From the comfort of your home you can watch Briggs’ grumpy but loveable Father Christmas as he gets ready for his busiest day of the year, Christmas Eve. Preparing his Christmas deliveries, feeding his reindeer and finally taking flight into the snowy night. Full of merry touches with plenty of live music, songs and playful puppetry. This will be a perfect festive treat for under 8s and their families.

Book your ticket for Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre here

Rachel O’Riordan, Artistic Director, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre said: “It means so much to us to be able to offer our audiences Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas this year and to be able to share this bloomin’ marvellous production with our partner venues. This has been a challenging year for all of us, but it is through innovative and collaborative partnerships such as this that together we will ensure we return stronger and continue to deliver the magic of theatre to our communities.”

Louise Chantal & Vanessa Lefrançois, Joint Directors/CEO, Oxford Playhouse said: “Oxford Playhouse is thrilled to continue our tradition of presenting a special Christmas show for young children, even if this year we’ve moved online and out of our Burton-Taylor Studio! Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas is a truly magical show for little ones which can be safely enjoyed in the comfort of home.”

Mike Tweddle, Artistic Director, Tobacco Factory Theatres Bristol said: “Pins and Needles are a much-loved and respected Bristol company with outstanding instincts for theatrical invention and magical storytelling. We were collaborating with them on a bold new co-production for this Christmas, before the world changed! So we couldn’t be happier to be joining forces with them and co-producers the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre on this innovative, world-class offering of family theatre, specially reimagined and filmed for audiences at home.”

Graeme Farrow, Artistic Director, Wales Millennium Centre said: “We were determined to give our audiences in Wales a taste this year of the magical festive performances they’ve come to expect from us, whatever the circumstances. So we’re absolutely delighted and proud to present Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Pins and Needles’ production of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas, which we know is a festive tale enjoyed by many families at this time of year.”