Royal & Derngate Launches New In-House Christmas Production

A historic theatre has premiered its internal Christmas production, which is being staged concurrently with its annual pantomime. This year’s performance at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton is an adaptation of The Jolly Christmas Postman and signifies the first occasion since 2019 that the venue has developed a Christmas show exclusively for its Royal stage. As part of the theatre’s “Made in Northampton” season, the production will feature a predominantly local ensemble of professional actors and artists. Artistic director Jesse Jones stated: “I’ve always wanted to do this show, but wasn’t quite sure how to do it.” Last year, the Royal Theatre presented a touring production of Stick Man for Christmas. For the current year’s show, the theatre has assembled its own creative team and cast, with four of the six actor-musicians originating from Northamptonshire. The set construction and costumes were crafted by the theatre’s in-house teams. The narrative follows a mail postman who delivers letters by bicycle to beloved characters from traditional British children’s tales, having been adapted from the book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. Mr Jones further commented: “It is a fun job a lot of the time. You have theories of what is going to work. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.” He added, “It’s a very special moment breathing life into these things, and when you invite the audience in, that’s when you really think, it’s birthed and then, we start thinking about what are we doing next year.” The theatre also co-produces the Derngate’s pantomime, which this year is Cinderella. For Northamptonshire news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not accountable for the content of external sites. Information regarding our approach to external linking is available.