Two of Northern Ireland’s hottest theatrical writers have been commissioned to pen a pair of entertaining Christmas shows for Theatre at the Mill in Newtownabbey.
Paul Boyd, who has had several successful West End Shows, will kick off the season on December 1st until the 13th with Tinseltown – a festive musical exploring the quirkier side of Christmas.
And 50 Shades of Red, White and Blue author Leesa Harker will follow on December 16th until January 3rd with Slimmer for Christmas, a laugh out loud comedy about the drama of dieting, female friendship and Malteser addiction.
Bernard Clarkson, Arts Centres Manager for Newtownabbey Borough Council, explained: “Christmas is always a special time for the theatre, a time when we present something totally original for our audiences to enjoy, and this year we have two brand new Christmas shows back to back. These shows are aimed at older children and adults – they offer something totally different and a fresh look at Christmas – its unique pressures, foibles and traditions.”
Tinseltown is the 21st original stage musical by Newtownabbey writer and director Paul Boyd to be professionally produced, and the creative team behind the show is responsible for some of the most successful original stage musicals ever staged in Northern Ireland, with many transfers to the West End and productions around the world.
“We have created a Christmas musical fantasy with a live band and a big West End musical theatre sound. The show tells the story of a little town hidden in the middle of a forest that was founded centuries ago by Santa Claus. A young boy, who doesn’t believe in Santa, stumbles across the town and one of the town’s residents sees this as her chance to ruin Christmas for everyone once and for all,” he said.
“It is a simple, modern fairy tale presented in a grown up fashion that will appeal to adults and older children alike. The story looks at how all of the crazy, quirky holiday traditions we adhere to came about, and it re-writes the meaning behind them. In essence, Tinseltown is a re-imagining of the reasons behind our traditional holiday, featuring original musical numbers, beautiful seasonal sets and costumes, and it is performed by the most accomplished musical theatre cast to be found anywhere in Northern Ireland this Christmas,” he added.
The cast features musical theatre stars Jane Milligan (from the West End production of Mamma Mia), Rhiannon Chesterman (from the UK touring production of Hairspray), Conleth Kane (from Molly Wobbly and RTE’s Fame the Musical), Christopher Finn (from Theatre at The Mill’s Hunchback and Molly Wobbly), Northern Ireland TV star Nuala McKeever, and the Lyric Theatre Belfast’s former artistic director (previously seen in the West End in Blood Brothers and The Mousetrap) Richard Croxford.
Leesa Harker’s show Slimmer for Christmas is her first without her famed character Maggie Muff. She actually came up with the idea for the show 15 years ago while studying for her Open University degree in English Literature and was delighted when the Theatre at the Mill asked her to write a new Christmas show.
“I just loved the idea of the effort that women make to impress men when quite often the men aren’t really their Prince Charming,” she said.
In Slimmer for Christmas Sami Salt is on a mission. She has exactly six weeks of Flab-Busters classes and video workouts to slim down for the Christmas do and dazzle her gorgeous boss Mark Bond with her svelte shape and super new confidence to boot.
However, her friends have other ideas – each setting her up on a blind date to get her back into the dating scene. Will Sami slim down for Christmas? Will she woo Mark and live happily ever after? Or will she eat her own bodyweight in Maltesers like last year?
Slimmer for Christmas stars Julie Maxwell as Sami with Caroline Curran (star of 50 Shades) as her best friend.
For further information on these Christmas shows contact Theatre at the Mill on 02890340202 or www.theatreatthemill.com.