YTYT Christmas Shows As You’ve Never Seen Them Before

Living in 2020 has been a challenge for us all and for young people the loss of their performance opportunities has been just as keenly felt as across the theatrical world.  When performing is your hobby, your release and your safe place to be yourself to have it removed at this pivotal time in your life cannot be underestimated.  However the creative team behind Yew Tree Youth Theatre (YTYT) rose to the challenge and began rehearsing as soon as possible online.  Once restrictions allowed out of school activity to resume in person, Sarah Osborne put things in place so that the young people who make up YTYT could come together again.  Thrown into another Lockdown in November and living under Tier 3 restrictions has made this a challenge, but they were determined that their annual Christmas show would not be lost.  Although it wouldn’t be performed in a theatre it was to be streamed live to an audience of family and friends via an online platform.  With seven different groups involved the full days production saw each group allocated an hour for a quick rehearsal and then a recorded performance leaving time for the venue to be cleaned before the next group moved in.  Parents waited in the car park and watched the live streamed shows whilst others were able to watch from the comfort of their home.

The blank set and large open space was the same for each production which challenged these young performers to transport their audience to various places in their imagination and beyond.  With limited costumes and props – to reduce the number of touch points and need for extra changing space – the productions were all supported with atmospheric music and every performance piece had clearly been the result of lots of work whether in person, online or the young people rehearsing at home alone.

Orange Company thoroughly captivated me with a performance of ‘Santa’s Workshop and the Grumpy Elf’.  The youngest performers in the company (aged 6 to 8) gave a lovely interpretation and I knew immediately from their entrances and stance what characters they were.  They worked very well together, which was particularly well demonstrated by the movement of Santa’s sleigh which they created without a single prop.  The cast all used clear loud voices and although they had had very limited time to rehearse they were very, very entertaining and showed huge promise.  Well done to you all.

We were treated to a wonderful story of Alice who finds herself in Wonderland by Sapphire Company.  We were enticed to ‘imagine we were in a meadow’ and through super routines and excellent characterisation the cast created a very atmospheric production.  I am sure I am not the only member of the virtual audience who wanted to follow Alice down the rabbit hole.  Super work.

Hansel and Gretel was performed by Yellow Company and was directed by Tom Osborne.  This group used inspired movement and actions which helped to really build the suspense of this story.  Some modern references were added to entertain and what impressed me the most was the delivery of the lovely description of the Gingerbread House – this clear and descriptive delivery really helped this audience member to ‘see’ the Gingerbread House – in fact I could smell the gingerbread.  Wonderful use of physicality by these young performers throughout – very well performed.

Written and Directed by Ellie Peters Sleeping Beauty was wonderfully presented to us by Jade Company.  The narration was clear and controlled ensuring that the audience knew and understood the twists in the plot.  I was enthralled by the dainty fairies and the very wicked witch and her sidekick.  The group used the space available and ensured that their production worked well despite the limitation of current regulations and restrictions.  A lovely retelling of this traditional tale.

Emerald Company gave us a very well-paced performance of Cinderella.  I enjoyed the Footloose interludes which were expertly timed by the energetic cast.  There were some great comedy moments particularly featuring the Ugly Sisters and Stepmother.  Excellent use of dancing and movement.  I felt the performers created very entertaining characters with great delivery of their lines.  Well done Emerald Company.

The Princess and the Frog presents some challenges to any production – not least transforming the Prince into a frog, but this was very well done in this story with the Prince becoming the puppeteer to the small green frog who antagonises the spoilt Princess.  I was very impressed with the lovely narration and choral announcements used in this performance.  The physical unfurling of the forest was also very well done and I enjoyed the puppetry of the frog.  This group utilised the space available with great movement.  A super performance by Gold Company.

The most senior performers in the production were Black Company who presented a very mature performance of ‘Welcome to Neverland’ which they had devised with their Director, Sarah Osborne.  The group created an atmospheric start and touched on the themes of risk, time, moving forward, joy, hope, future, escape and freedom which really resonated with the audience because of the age of the performers and the wider impacts of the current worldwide situation.  The young people had clearly explored their characters in depth and gave very creative interpretations.  The use of movement throughout was captivating and every member of the company moved with poise and grace.  Excellent work Black Company.

This was a fabulous, feel good way to start the holiday season.  The work which must have gone into this event cannot be underestimated and my thanks go to everyone at YTYT whose passion for performance made this happen.

Congratulations to everyone involved – wonderful entertainment in very challenging times.

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