Amidst all the modern commercialism it can sometimes be hard to find the magic of Christmastime, and in particular that sense of anticipation remembered from childhood. Family theatre like pantomime goes a long way towards making the season feel festive, but somehow the thing that says Christmas more than anything are shows made especially for very young children.
Few venues do this quite like Unity, and it is an absolute delight to be back in this cosy, intimate space watching a piece that has been made from a child’s-eye view.
Sleep Can Wait is a collaboration between Unity and Tmesis Theatre and directed by Elinor Randle, so you know from the outset that it will be a piece devised with the focus on movement and imagination.
Stephanie Greer, Mariana Pires and Samuel Perez Duran are grownups, but in their pyjamas and set loose on a stage filled with a colourful miscellany of props, they immediately become children. It is Christmas Eve, the stockings have been hung by the fireplace and the treats have been left for Santa and his reindeer, so all that is left is to go to sleep – right?
All about this house on the Night Before Christmas it is more than just a mouse that is stirring. Steph, Mariana and Sam are tucked up in their bunk beds but sleep is the last thing they are able to find there. When a story book is opened and the eldest begins to read, the three find themselves swept away into a half-waking, half-sleeping dream world, where everything comes to life.
A laundry basket becomes a space rocket and a bookcase turns into a chariot, and we are swept along on a magical ride, assisted by Meike Holzman’s atmospheric musical score and Xenia Bayer’s lighting. The journey is punctuated by episodes of shadow puppetry, and physical puppetry (with the help of Sarah Han) and some delightful audience participation that features both a solo spot for one child that supplies the confidence and paves the way for an avalanche of children onto the stage nearer the end.
Engagement with its core audience is clearly flawless, with a rapport between children and performers established well before the lights go down that ensures that everyone is glued to the action. The show lasts for just over an hour, and there is not a moment when everyone’s focus is not entirely held, and smiles on the adult faces prove that this is even reaching the most cynical inner-child.
This is a show that really understands its audience and capitalises on the fact that, while storybooks may be a catalyst, the most important part of storytelling is that which grows from the imagination of the children themselves.
I can think of few better ways I would have wanted to bring this year’s round of seasonal shows to an end than this utterly beguiling piece of work and, for me at least, six decades of life were rolled backwards for an hour, bringing back the sense of Christmas as a child.
Sleep Can Wait has performances at Unity Theatre until 23rd December as part of its wider Christmas programme, and tickets are available here.
Star Rating 5 stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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