The Festive Elves and the Shoemakers by Raise The Roof Theatre Co.
Reviewed 8th November 2024
4/5
A festive treat and in a super cause! – catch it while you can.
Raise the Roof Theatre Company treated us to a different take on the story of The Elves and the Shoemaker. Given a pantomime twist by writer Amelia Fewtrill, we were transported to Lapland, the home of Father Christmas, for a battle between the Elves and the Gnomes in order to save Christmas.
With the backdrop of the Great Hall at Warwick Castle, the atmosphere was set from the off, and the cast, consisting largely of some very talented children from the area, aided by half a dozen adult actors, gave their all to tell this unusual tale.
The tale centered around the attempts of the evil Queen Greedia (the dame in the show and played by Rod Stone), to put Father Christmas to sleep for eternity, and then take over Christmas. With her team of goblins, she kidnaps the local Shoemaker to deliver the poisoned hot chocolate. Of course, the Queen had not counted on the strength of the Elves and their amazing invention.
With some catchy songs written by Amelia, Paula Whitehouse, and Jay Riley, and choreography by Sophia Hayashida, the young cast danced and sang their hearts out, and had the enthusiastic audience clapping along on several occasions.
The company was formed to honour the memory of a young lady named Annabel Greenhalgh, and to raise funds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Such is their dedication, that one member of the cast even flew in from Finland to pay tribute her late friend. It is fair to say they did did her proud!
If you missed the show at Warwick Castle, you can catch it at the Royal Pump Rooms in Leamington Spa at either 2.30pm or 7pm on Saturday 9th November. For tickets visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/raise-the-roof-theatre-co