Watching theatre in the wintertime is one of my favourite festive activities. This is usually the only time of the year when holiday-themed plays are shown. It has become a tradition in my own life to see specific holiday shows. Every year I see A Christmas Carol, one of my personal favourites. A Christmas Carol is a classic, containing popular Christmas tunes. The show explores themes of being grateful and asserts strong family values. There is even a showing of a reimagined A Christmas Carol here in Edinburgh. If you are interested in learning more about it, read Pauline Thormann’s review of An Edinburgh Christmas Carol here or in the latest print edition of our newspaper.
Another show currently in Edinburgh is The Snow Queen, a production from The Scottish Ballet. This gorgeous ballet is based on Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale. The Snow Queen is a story about two sisters, the Snow Queen and the Summer Princess, and their magical adventure. The ballet is here in Edinburgh at the Festival Theatre until December 10th, so make sure to see it before the production ends.
An additional popular play during winter is It’s a Wonderful Life: The 1946 Live Radio Play. the production is based on the popular movie and the production is reimagined, as the title states, through the twist of a radio play. A radio play is missing the visuals of a traditional play and focuses on the audio performances. The movie is a Christmas favourite and if you’re a fan of it, I’d recommend watching the play. It follows the life of George Bailey who is contemplating whether to commit suicide or not on Christmas day. He is shown by angels what the town that he lives in would have looked like without everything that he has done for the town. It is a realistic movie and play as it includes the sombreness of the real world but still has an element of Christmas magic, and imparts important life lessons.
Watching winter holiday shows can help many people get into the Christmas spirit. That may sound very cliche, but the holidays are all about expressing your love for your friends and family, as well as spending quality time with those who are most important to you. Holiday theatre shows also often include themes of being charitable and helping those less fortunate. These holiday or winter shows help remind us of the core values of Christmas and other winter holidays.
Image ‘Silver Snowflake Ornament‘ by John Morgan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.