Never mind what’s hidden inside the wrapping paper, here’s a bigger mystery: how does Santa go down the chimney? Mac Barnett’s 2023 picture book of the same name appeals to inquisitive young readers by offering a festive selection of breaking-and-entering techniques. Does he find the key under the flower pot, post himself through the letterbox, even swim in through the taps? Jon Klassen’s illustrations feature a pack of reindeer, with inscrutable expressions, watching Santa’s increasingly wacky antics.
Directing his own adaptation for the Unicorn’s co-production with Told By an Idiot, Paul Hunter follows the book’s rhythm of a child’s racing imagination, with each far-fetched idea mooted, discarded, then swiftly replaced by another. He turns the book into a sort of variety show, with volunteers from the audience occasionally cast as Santa’s little helpers.
