A Very Naughty Christmas | Woodward Productions

As A Very Naughty Christmas is now in its sixth year, you may just feel that you’ve ‘seen it, and perhaps not this year.‘ Think again; the team behind A Very Naughty Christmas have worked hard to ensure that the sixth year is possibly the best so far. La Boite is a great new venue for this festive favourite, providing an intimate setting for you and around 300+ other people to get into the Christmas spirit. So, if you haven’t yet included A Very Naughty Christmas on previous festive shopping lists, then 2022 is the year for you.

OK…if you don’t like burlesque, prefer your comedy to be G or PG, and like to hear your Christmas playlist exactly as originally recorded… then this is not the show for you. But the publicity is clear about A Very Naughty Christmas as 18+, with partial nudity and a mixed playlist of ‘Christmas classics as you’ve never heard them before.’ This is a clever, funny, adults-only burlesque-meets-musical-theatre. It isn’t high art, it won’t test your powers of concentration, and it’s probably not going to inspire social action—but it gets 5-stars from me. Sometimes we just need an enjoyable night out.

All images: Joel Devereux

Dan Venz (Director, Writer and Choreographer), Alister Smith (Director, Writer), and team have created a very clever variety-style show that delivers. The show is well-paced—with opportunities for each performer to shine (in varying states of undress), and some audience participation. As was said on the night, ‘smut like this takes time.’ The writers have worked hard to continue to improve on a show that reinterprets and revisits Christmas classics—including a definitely irreligious retelling of ‘The Real Story of Christmas’ and an incisive ‘Santa Loves You Less Because You’re Poor.’

The cast continues to be headlined by the irrepressible Stephen Hirst (Santa), and features new and returning performers (Aurelie Roque, Daniel Erbacher, Emily Kristopher, Emma Whitfield, Ethan Jones, Kate Yaxley, Shay Debney, and Taylah Ferguson). Together they work hard to deliver a high-energy event that is smutty, funny, slightly scandalous, and very entertaining.

The performers can move (everything from hip-hop, through to kickline, tap, and contemporary dance), sing (really great musical theatre voices), burlesque (great ‘fan’ dancing, and some slick striptease moves), act, and really work a crowd. Exactly what is needed for a pre-Christmas celebration—with work colleagues, friends , your partner, or just on your own.

All images: Joel Devereux

Personal highlights included Emily Kristopher’s funny focus group skit with Stephen Hirst, the ‘Christmas Time is Here’ dance moves, the band’s ‘Deck the Halls,’ the underwear reinterpretation of the classic ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland,’ and the ‘Mr Grinch’ contemporary dance.

There wasn’t a weak musical number, but I particularly loved the vocal work in ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,’ and ‘Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas’ (and Hirst’s Phantom of the Opera-style rendition of ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’). It’s always great to have live music in any show; the musicians were excellent (Dominic Woodhead [Musical Director, Keys and Guitar], Tom Collins [Associate Musical Director, Guitar and Bass] and Chris Evans [Drums]), and I was delighted that they were much more visible, thanks to great placing on the upper level of the set and in full view.

A Very Naughty Christmas comes with the warning that ‘you may never hear your favourite carols the same way again….’. It’s certainly going to be a while before I can listen to The Divinyls ‘I touch myself.’, ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland,’  or even ‘Six White Boomers,’ without recalling the Very Naughty Christmas versions of each classic.

After the performance, all I could hear were fellow audience members talking abut how much they enjoyed the show—with a nice blend of ‘I told you it was good’ through to ‘we’d better book again.’ The only slightly odd thing was to come outside and discover it was still twilight, as I’d been to see a 5pm show; it certainly felt as if I’d seen a great late-evening cabaret and was ready for the after party.

Verdict: High energy musical theatre with a very naughty twist. Ideal for Christmas celebrations, but don’t leave your Christmas shopping too late, as tickets may just be sold out.

A Very Naughty Christmas plays at La Boite, Kelvin Grove until 17 December. The reviewer attended the 3 December 2022 performance (5pm).