Review: Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas returns to Lyric Hammersmith

‘I want to see more’

Baby Girl had no interest in getting up from her seat when Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas had finished on Friday. We had been invited to see this classic Christmas show at Lyric Hammersmith, and she was mesmerised with the performance throughout.

I was thrilled she still liked it, as it’s become a must-see Christmas show for me too – despite the target audience being under 6s. The charming show is based on the book by Raymond Briggs, and it’s back on stage for a third Christmas at Lyric. I liked it so much when I saw it last year, and we ended up seeing it twice last season.

That time, Baby Girl was one and she found Father Christmas’s dog and cat to be hysterically funny. Now that she’s 27 months old I could see she understood the full story even better, and I agree with my friend who said taking young children to see this performance is a great way to introduce them to Father Christmas. They will learn about Father Christmas going around the world in his sleigh with his reindeer, coming through the chimney and leaving presents under the tree while everyone is asleep.

The intimate venue is also brilliant for little ones, but what I like most about Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas is that it’s not just a sweet show for Baby Girl to experience. I love it too. I find it really charming and it makes me feel Chrismassy.

Now I’m just trying to secure some tickets to see it all again. The only way I managed to drag Baby Girl out of the theatre was to agree she could take Daddy T to see Father Christmas another time, and she’s not forgotten. Father Christmas is mentioned ever day, so we’ll continue the desperate search for tickets to a weekend performance.

Father Christmas is running at Lyric Hammersmith until the end of December, and tickets are £10 for adults and £8 for children. Running time is 50 minutes, and there is no interval. Photo by Simon Annand.

Tags: Activities for children, Children's theatre, Christmas, Family day out, Father Christmas, London, Lyric Hammersmith, Raymond Briggs, Review