The production company (Base Entertainment/Anthony Street) that has previously delivered polished and technical Irish shows "Celtica", and "Celtic Illusion" has this time produced an early Christmas present for the families of Dunedin. "The Greatest Christmas Show" is a bold call for a particularly pared-back version of that which is performed in Australia.
Fun for all the family was the aim of this show, and it delivered in spades — every single child (and some adults) were up on their feet almost from start to finish. There was a plethora of Christmas outfits and accessories throughout the audience — some adorable, and some questionable, but hey! It’s Christmas, and parents do it for their children.
The show is led and MC’d by vocalists Sasha Simic and Kiwi Cat Hay, who are accompanied by another Kiwi, musician Emily Roughton (piano and violin), and a troupe of five dancers — Lizzie Lawless, Sophie Vos, Aria Somerville, Maddie McVeigh and Emily Stewart — along with aerialist Britney Unmack. The dancers were lively, animated and highly entertaining, and Unmack showed extreme skill with her aerial performances.
Christmas classics such as Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls and Silent Night were interspersed with the more contemporary It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and Let it Snow in a charming and endearing way and performed beautifully by Hay and Simic.
The dance troupe in support actually stole the show on many occasions, especially in Roughton’s violin rendition of Carol of the Bells. This was the highlight for me — Roughton’s exquisite playing and the dancers’ lyricism and depth added that little bit of drama and emotion that this production otherwise lacked.
The costumes were at differing times festive, flowing and even a little Broadway-esque (Let it Snow), but always on point and stunning at times. The visit from the "Big Man" in red could have been so much more, but again, the children lapped up every moment.
The audience participation was from the outset and I feel that was key to keeping the mostly young crowd engaged on a school night. The beach ball skit may not have gone completely to plan, but it was fun and hilarious. Simic did well to take on the lead MC and magician responsibilities in the absence of creator and illusionist Anthony Street, but overall it felt like we got the understudy version of the production (sorry, adult hat here).
As an adult, I had bigger expectations from this production; however, I decided to write this review (mostly) with my 5 to 10-year-old hat on. This show more than exceeded those expectations.
