Christmas theatre for young and old

A Criminal Christmas
The Outfit Theatre Company in association with Stamp at The Edge
Producer: Ema Barton
Herald Theatre, Aotea Centre, The Edge
December 5 - 18

The Twits by Roald Dahl
Director: Alison Quigan
Q Theatre
December 2 - 18

In the lead up to Christmas in Auckland there will be a couple of theatrical events for adults and children with The Outfit Theatre Company presenting “A Criminal Christmas” and the Auckland Theatre Company performing a stage version of Roald Dahl’s “The Twits”.

Outfit Theatre’s show, “A Criminal Christmas”, is going where no Kiwi Christmas farce has gone before…a rest-home.

As part of an innovative new community service rehabilitation-through-theatre scheme, a dysfunctional group of rag-tag criminals are sentenced to spend their Christmas Eve providing entertainment for the elderly residents of a financially-troubled rest home. With the slimy rest home director determined to see them fail, and the performance fast approaching, the crims must put their differences aside and join forces to create their own version of the traditional Nativity story.

The method is simple; take a setting that we’re all familiar with, load it with a powder-keg of the funniest characters possible, add a little conflict, light the match and watch as all hell breaks loose in an explosion of hilarity.

“It’s going to be ridiculous, laugh-out-loud and a breath of fresh air for the pre-Christmas rush” says producer Ema Barton. “We are having plenty of fun creating a bunch of kooky crims, rest home staff and residents. It’ll make you feel like no matter how crazy your family gets at Christmas, it’ll never be as nuts as this".

The Outfit Theatre Company which is one of the more innovate theatre companies working in New Zealand at the moment has produced more than 10 successful shows since 2008. They have been building momentum with a growing reputation for fast-paced, laugh-out-loud ensemble theatre. They are not afraid to tackle taboo subjects or push the envelope with shows like ”The Sex Show,” which was a sold-out smash hit at the Auckland Fringe this year.

ATC will be performing “The Twits”, written by the great children’s story teller Roald Dahl which has been adapted from the story by David Wood and features design by Tracey Collins.

It tells about the horribly funny and gross couple Mr and Mrs Twit (played by David Fane and Te Radar) who delight in playing nasty tricks on one another. The ugly, smelly and shocking duo revels in their own malicious mischief and stupefying stupidity.

Not satisfied with terrifying each other, the repellent duo force pet monkeys to perform tricks for their entertainment and tempt wild birds onto glue-covered trees so the couple can bake them in a pie. But now the animals want to get their revenge.

"The Twits" is a repulsive and amusing tale for children and adults can revisit their childhood fantasy land.