A Christmas show about belonging and friendship on the Chichester stage

Nick was in the first Chichester Festival Youth Theatre production on the main house stage 21 years ago, The Wizard of Oz, and the following year, 20 years ago just before he went to drama school, Nick was back on the main house stage with the Youth Theatre as Fagin in Oliver! In both, he was directed by Dale Rooks who is also directing Hey! Christmas Tree this Christmas.

“I was 16 when I first performed in the Caucasian Chalk Circle in the Minerva and then I was a supernumerary in the Emily Blunt Romeo & Juliet in the main house and then I was part of the cohort for the Christmas shows. I just remember the size and the scale of the spectacle with the Christmas shows and the fact that the Youth Theatre was attended by Chichester audiences in the same way that the big Chichester theatre shows were attended. We did ten or 14 performances, and every one was pretty much sold out. And it was just great to have that technical support in what was effectively a professional show.”

And when the CFT celebrated 60 years a couple of years ago, Nick was invited back for a Youth Theatre gala in which he was asked to reprise his Fagin.

“Right from an early age I did a weekly drama club which was really wonderful with lots of improvisation and that really sparked the interest. And also I did a lot of shows at Bishop Luffa. That was fantastic at building up confidence and interest, and then with the Youth Theatre you get got that sense of professionalism. I was able to do Oliver! in a gap year before drama school, and it was a really great show for me to be able to do. Dale has been such a great mentor and a great support all the way.”

As for Hey! Christmas Tree, Tree – played by Nick – is rescued from the forest on Christmas Eve by Mavis, the motorbiking park ranger, who lives with her cheeky cat Winston and nine-year-old Yulia, who doesn’t want to talk and is a long way from home.

Tree has never had Christmas before and isn’t sure about all the decorations he has to wear. But he meets Father Christmas and the Snow Woman, and with Yulia to care for him, he starts to dance. The seasons come and go, Tree grows taller, and soon Christmas comes around once again. And alongside the gifts in their stockings is the best present of all…

“It's really magical. It's really Christmassy and joyful but there is a real poignancy that I think particularly adults will pick up on. There is a real depth to it and the music is great. It's a show about belonging and friendship.”