"The Last Noel" by Chris Bush

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

Tess’s parents work for the emergency services and that has always meant that Christmas celebrations have to be a moveable feast. Today is no different, and Tess, her Gran, and her Uncle Mike are once more awaiting their arrival. But something is different this time, and if everything is changing, then maybe the stories they tell have to change too?

 

Maybe traditions need to be reworked to fit in with this new narrative?

 

They pass the time telling their stories in turns, breaking off for the odd musical interlude. As they do, we see a picture of how one family forms its traditions, and we recognise how those traditions matter most, when there are problems on the horizon.

 

This is a bittersweet story about three generations of a family getting ready to celebrate Christmas. It is a play with songs, laughter, melancholy, mulled beverages, and a kiss of nostalgia.

Ezra Roberts plays Tess and with the other two characters, I'm not going to tell you what stories they all tell, but she relates that transition period between school and University and the physical and mental changes that go into maturing a person, but there's still that touch of sadness in certain parts.

Lesley Brown plays Alice, The Gran. Always worrying about getting things sorted in time for Christmas, her family arguing and relating tales from the past. There was a really lovely emotional piece in the show which you probably won't see on future performances which really drew emotion from the audience, and as this is staged in the Studio upstairs, you're only feet away from the actors. Alice really shows the importance and need for family at this time of year, and highlights that Christmas is not always a happy time for everyone.

Uncle Mike is played by Michael Radford. This is a great character. Uncle Mike is gay and part of his story focuses on a crush that he has on a straight man and is tender as well as gently comical.

All three of the tales that are told within the 75 minutes of stage time are wonderfully descriptive and much of the script is in rhyme, giving almost the feel of a grown up pantomime, but with pathos. The style of story-telling draws you in and almost confides in you as invited guests.

Talking of which, I urge you to get there at least fifteen minutes before the show starts because all three creative an interactive pre show activity session; Thursday evening (opening night) even saw the audience singing carols even before the start of the play.

I mentioned that throughout the play there were musical interludes. These were all original pieces, lyrically by Chris Bush, but the music side of the interludes was composed and played on the keyboard by Sam Marshall, the Musical Director. If you can imagine the thoughtfulness of Jason Robert Brown with the playfulness of Victoria Wood, that's the kind of sound you can expect from the songs. Simply gorgeous.

Directed by Laurie Owen, assisted by Ali Lit, this is just the kind of play to leave you feeling festive but thoughtful with a side of melancholy, with the pace varying throughout to reflect the variety of emotions that Laurie required the three wonderful actors to give.

Lighting Design is by Nick Gale, and there is one section where the lights are dimmed, creating that lovely warm Christmassy feeling that only the glow from the Christmas tree lights can provide.

• Sound Design is by Gareth Morris. With the intimacy of the Studio surroundings, and of course with no need for electronic enhancement of the voice, the sound from the keyboard was well balanced through the speakers to accompany the singing and the background musical sections under the script sections. A lovely blend; and then there's the sound effects that are used which are also well executed and mixed.
• 
  
• Stage Managed by Rebecca ‘Bex’ Steele, assisted by Anthony Garton.

  

  
  
• 
  
• The Costumes are by Hazel Salisbury and are apt for the characters, distinguishing the age gaps between the three characters.

Although this is staged in the upstairs performing space, I had the chance to have a good look around the set and you'd be surprised at the amount of props used, and all relevant. Several items that took me back to my Christmases as a child. The props are managed by Freya Morgan.

This is not your usual "Deck the halls fah la la la la, la la la la" Christmas fare because of the wonderful way that the script takes you to a lovely warm happy place from your past, to a decidedly darker place, and just as quick the family is brought back and the virtual family hug wraps itself around the characters and gives you reason to smile again with another lovely dollop of comedy.

"The Last Noel" is at the Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 20 December, but the whole week is practically sold out, and I can see why this is the case. There's also a relaxed performance on Wednesday 17 December, supported by The Lasting Project.