CBeebies favourite Chris Jarvis is to direct and star in Happy Ever After, a very special show for Christmas at Lighthouse, Poole’s centre for the arts, this December.
He’s promising an hour-long extravaganza of music and song with loads of laughter and bags of festive fun – a Christmas treat for the whole family.
The show, which has also been written by Chris, features a host of familiar friends from the world of pantomime and a story in which we find out what happens to them after their panto story ends. Will Cinders get to her next ball? Will Humpty Dumpty pull himself together again? Can they all live happily ever after?
“This is Christmas at Lighthouse with just a smidgen of pantomime,” says Chris.
“We are acutely aware that people have had a rotten year and that coming back to a theatre to shout and scream and boo and hiss and have things thrown around might not be what they need at this time. But we want people to come and be relaxed and comfortable enough to enjoy themselves so although there’s no baddy and we’re not throwing things into the audience, we have lots of characters that everyone knows from panto like Cinderella, Jack, Genie, Fairy Godmother and I’ll be dressed as Buttons and tell the story of what happens to those characters after their panto story. Do they live happy ever after?”
The show features a medley of Christmas songs and a full cast of talented singers and dancers, as well as the magical special effects created by lighting designer James Smith.
“The story is told with the same texture as panto with comedy and songs, but the magic comes from the phenomenal skills of James Smith – he’s a genius who can make things happen with lights that don’t seem possible.”
Chief Executive Elspeth McBain adds: “We know how much our audiences love coming to Lighthouse all year round and especially at Christmas so we wanted to put on a special show and make it accessible to as much of the community as possible. Not only does this mean we can all come back together and have a great time at Christmas, but it gives our wonderful audiences a chance to support Lighthouse by buying a ticket for a great show that has been made entirely in Poole.”
Happy Ever After will open on Friday 18 December and run until Sunday 3 January with three shows a day most days. No shows on 21 December, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
Happy Ever After goes on sale to Lighthouse Friends on Wednesday 14 October and on General Sale on Friday 16 October.
For details of Lighthouse Friends visit https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/support-lighthouse/