The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh presents an advent calendar like no other!
This piece of work is a series of 12 Tales of Christmas by Scottish writers. 8 of the Tales are pre-recorded available to watch on the Lyceum’s Vimeo channel for free while the 4 last were being streamed live until the 20th of December and can now be accessed after a £10 -20 ticket is purchased from their website. The tales are varied, telling stories about what Christmas means to many people, depending on their culture, experiences, class, religion, attitude, or abilities. Some of the tales bring parts of old stories and legends into them while trying to bring history up to date.
The stories are also told with music which relates to the tales told. Through use of similar and diverse themes these stories show inspiring messages of what it means to be giving, thoughtful, caring, generous, loving and cheerful at Christmas. The stories are well-written with well-developed plots describing dramatic, uplifting, memorable and mysterious events. Each story appears to be mainly told by one person and scenery, sound effects and props are used well to help the audience imagine the events described. The storytellers clearly target particular audiences by featuring themes of family, friendship and challenges, mentioning Scottish places, current and historical events, using comedy and telling tales suitable for all ages.
Characters are also well-described to help convey the messages of the stories through their actions as well as helping to meet expectations of the target audience. The audience's knowledge of familiar legends and characters is challenged as the tales attempt to educate them about history, religions, politics and the spirit of Christmas. This helps to make them believe in how the magic and wonders of Christmas brings joy, love and happiness. I would recommend watching these tales and give the series five stars.
https://lyceum.org.uk/lyceum-christmas-tales
Written by Amy McCombes.