Alphabetti offers a different take on
Christmas with Santa Must Die!
Alphabetti Theatre, St James’ Blvd,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4HP
Thursday 16th – Friday 31st December 2021
Santa Must Die! is a raucous new gig theatre show for the
gig economy at the most difficult time
of the year! This production by archipelago, written by
Rosie MacPherson, with performers
Rhian Liu and Robin Ravi is a different kind of festive
story about when Christmas is all work and
no play. It looks at finding joy in unexpected places and
fighting against that which is meant to
keep you down.
Nadia and Abed might just be the next big thing. They are
the duo behind The North’s greatest
Punk band this side of the Seventies, and for one night only
they’re playing their local. But it’s
Christmas eve, and Santa is a bad boss. Dealing with
unending queues of demanding, entitled
customers, minimum wage, unpaid overtime and zero hours
contracts means the elves are
ready to riot.
Inspired by many friends who’ve had bad jobs over Christmas,
with long hours and barely any
time off, Santa Must Die! looks at the fact that, for most
of us, Christmas is actually a busy and
stressful time. Made in conversation with local people in
Bradford and Newcastle who have
experience of working on zero hours contracts at Christmas,
this is a Christmas show for
audiences who like their theatre with a bit of bite. Taking
the riotous punk energy of
archipelago’s previous show about our NHS in crisis, An Act
of Care, the company have been
inspired by the heart of traditional Christmas shows and
brought them to the stage in this
production – expect audience interaction, panto-like tropes,
great music, genre-bending video
2 projections and a heartfelt story about workers coming
together to fight against the corporate
greed of Father Christmas.
Co-Director Laurence Young comments, archipelago are making
Santa Must Die! for the people
for whom Christmas isn’t always a walk in the park. Whilst
many of us get to relax, unwind, and
reflect on the year, for a huge number this isn’t true.
Instead, Christmas is the culmination point,
a mad-dash scramble of busyness and overworking that leaves
you tired and burnt out. It’s not
good enough that minimum wage barely covers people’s living
expenses. It’s not good enough
that zero hours contracts mean you can lose work at the drop
of a hat. It’s not good enough that
throughout the pandemic frontline workers (those deemed
essential) have had minimal
protections and insulting levels of sick pay. Frankly, Santa
is a bad boss, and he’s got to go.
Santa Must Die! is a great night out showcasing exciting
emerging Northern talent and a show
that advocates for workers’ rights at the most difficult
time of the year.
Dates Thursday 16th – Friday 24th December 2021 | Wednesday
29th - Friday 31st December 2021
7.30pm, plus 1pm Saturday matinees
Wednesday 22nd December (7:30pm) - captioned performance
Wednesday 29th December (7:30pm) - audio described
Saturday 18th December (1pm) - relaxed
Box Office Booking essential. Tickets are Pay What You Feel
and are available from
https://www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk/santa-must-die
Facebook @AlphabettiTheatre | @ArchipelagoTC
Instagram @alphabetti_theatre | @archipelagoarts
Twitter @alphabetti | @archipelagoarts
#SantaMustDie
Running time 90 minutes including interval
Notes 14+, strong language, discussion of sexual assault and
racism
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