This seasonal festive show from the Rondo, written and directed by Ian McGlynn, doesn’t much feature mangers or wise men or babies, as you might have expected.
Image via The Rondo Theatre
Rather, it sets out to do what the title implies, ie tell the whole history of Christmas, or rather of midwinter solstice festivals, from the Stone Age till now; and, dear reader, it really does. Sort of.
This is not, in case you were worried, some dry historical lecture. No. This cast of three exceptional performers – Alex, Amy and Liz – hurl themselves at the tale with immense comic energy from the get go.
There are daft songs, (Alex is a whiz on the ukulele) of which you may recognise the tune, but not the non-traditional words.
There are many changes of character and costume, or what they want us to think of as costume, done with various bits of improvised fabric.
They argue hilariously with each other as they proceed through the centuries, and the hectic pace never flags, packing much more history and far more laughs than seems possible into just an hour.
And in the tradition of panto (which this is not), there is plenty for both adults and children to enjoy.
A real high-energy master class in comedy ensemble playing, from a highly talented trio. Delightful.
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Reviewer: John Christopher Wood | Star rating: ****
The Story of Christmas is showing at the Rondo Theatre, Bath until Sunday 23rd December 2019.
For more information and tickets, visit The Rondo website.
