Christmas can be a bit of a performance. It often involves harassed people doing a lot. But for many of us, alongside all the stressful preparations, it will include some kind of theatre visit, whether a panto, musical or ballet, such as The Nutcracker.
These days a way to escape the tyranny of digital screens, family trips to the theatre were already a tradition by the end of the 19th century. Children’s books of “the Golden Age” – from Lewis Carroll’s Alice books to JM Barrie’s Peter Pan and Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows – offered fertile ground for stage adaptation and family audiences came flocking.
Today there is enormous choice, and the range on offer is heartening. In London, Jacksons Lane Arts Centre’s festive production Christmas Comes to Moominvalley – returning for the second year and perhaps becoming a tradition of its own – is a charming option for families looking for some Christmas magic and family time together.
