Category: Review

You know the festive season has arrived in Warwickshire when Warwick Castle flicks the switch!

And this year it has kicked off the seasonal celebrations in spectacular style with one of the most impressive Light Trails that can’t fail but to light up your holidays.

The trail is a headline feature of the variety of magical events and activities allowing visitors to explore the magnificently decorated castle grounds. Complete with festive decorations and heritage attractions, visitors can spend a good hour wandering through the seasonally adorned halls and the charming Princess Tower, before heading to the festive markets for a delicious winter treat.

You can also enhance your visit with the special Stories with Santa sessions, joining Santa for a magical storytelling experience in the majestically decorated rooms of the Castle—it’s a moment of pure festive joy.

Santa was not on our bucket list this year but the more adventurous of us did brave the ice, gliding into the Christmas spirit with a skating rink, its breathtaking castle backdrop quite a sight to behold. No castle entry ticket is required for this activity – just lace up and swirl under the twinkling lights.

For those who love a bit of sparkle however, Warwick Castle’s Light Trail is the real highlight this year. Wander along a mesmerising path of twinkling lights and festive displays through the stunning grounds, with new additions for 2024 to captivate imaginations. Another standalone experience that does not require a castle entry ticket, it’s an unmissable evening adventure.

An inclusive Sensory Light Trail also features on the schedule, designed to include slower transitions and static lighting, reduced and adapted audio and the removal of roaming characters. Within the trail, an accessible version of the Stories with Santa experience will be available, where Santa and Mrs Claus quietly waiting to be approached by children.

As a part of its ice-skating offering, Warwick Castle is allocating separate slots for reduced numbers on the rink itself, enabling those who would prefer the guidance of a skate aid to do so. These slots also include reduced lighting, sound and music for a more accessible experience.

Once again, Warwick Castle is the heart of Christmas magic this season. It’s a yuletide celebration that promises to warm the heart of every guest. And everyone in my party – children and adults alike – got so much from their visit and are all now very much in the festive spirit.

I never take for granted how lucky we are to live just three miles from one of the most famous and beautiful castles in the UK – but it’s at Christmas when I personally, appreciate it most. Now I’m ready. Bring on the turkey and tinsel. . .

With over 15 live shows and attractions, guests can explore a thousand years of history at Warwick Castle. Book HERE.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre as the curtain goes up (and the snow comes down) for one of the classic festive tales A Christmas Carol.

It’s a cold Christmas Eve and mean-spirited miser Ebeneezer Scrooge has an unexpected visit from the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley. Bound in chains as punishment for a lifetime of greed, the unearthly figure explains it isn’t too late for Scrooge to change his miserly ways in order to escape the same fate, but first he’ll have to face three more eerie encounters.

But this adaptation, while largely staying faithful to the original Charles Dickens novella, takes on more of a haunting feel. Indeed, A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (as it has now become) proved a big hit with the audience.

In most part though this is, in my opinion, down to the impressive and innovatively designed staging, cleverly dialling up the scare factor through ghostly and spine-tingling special effects against a supernatural backdrop.

Visually it is striking and gothic in feel with seamless transitions between scenes.

The cast put in strong performances, Matthew Cottle’s portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge among the best I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a few now over the years!) The final scenes were my personal favourite however, as he jigged about the stage akin to an overexcited schoolboy on Christmas morning. Rufus Hound delivers a, perhaps, surprisingly powerful and commanding performance as Jacob Marley.

While the ensemble performances were, on the whole, equally as strong, the use of dual roles resulted in a loss of some believability.

But as the ‘snow’ drifted down in the final scenes depicting the thawing of Scrooge’s icy heart, we couldn’t fail but to get into the festive spirit and I was humming carols all the way home.

There is plenty of time to catch A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, which runs at the Birmingham Rep from now until January 5^th. Tickets can be booked via their website HERE or by calling the box office on: 0121 236 4455.

Walking back to their apartment late one night, a tragic encounter sees Sam murdered and his girlfriend Molly alone, in despair and utterly lost. With the help of a phony storefront psychic, Sam, trapped between this world and the next, tries to communicate with Molly in the hope of saving her from grave danger.

Despite the scenario, Jacqui Dubois brings a lot of laughs, stealing the show as she reprises her iconic role as the not not-so-psychic psychic, ‘Oda Mae Brown.’ While Rebekah Lowings and James Mateo-Salt show incredible chemistry on stage, having us convinced of their deep adoration for each other.

The movie Ghost is one of cinema’s biggest all-time hits. Starring the late Patrick Swayze, alongside Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, it was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won an Oscar for screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin who has adapted his screenplay for this musical.

Quite a legacy to honour then but what results is a polished and touching production that rightly earned its standing ovation. The staging and lighting worked well in separating the present with the afterlife and was timed to perfection. After all, this was never going to be an easy task – ‘dead’ bodies deftly appearing out of nowhere and actors jumping in to embody the psychic in order to communicate with the living!

Director Bob Thompson, writer Bruce Joel Rubin and team have succeeded in taking a classic film and turning it into a show that can stand on its own merits, combining key familiar elements of the story with some minor reworks as well as modernising the story and set.

It’s an emotional rollercoaster of a show that is packed full of spirit, helped in no small measure by the delightful score – courtesy of Eurythmics’ Dave Steward – and including the song synonymous with one of the most famous romantic movie scenes in cinematic history, Unchained Melody. (Potters’ wheels have never been seen quite the same way since!)

A successful stage transition combines with stunning score and all-round talented cast and crew to make this one of my most memorable theatre experiences of the year (and I have a lot to choose from!)

Aside from the sad storyline running through, there are also plenty of belly laughs to be had. Either way, you’ll be damp of cheek! Be sure to pop a tissue in your pocket before leaving the house.

Ghost: The Musical plays at The Belgrade Theatre until Saturday. Tickets available here.