Come June, Helen Eastman locks herself in her sitting room, puts up the Christmas decorations, eats mince pies and plays lots of Bing Crosby to get in the mood to write The Burton Taylor Theatre’s Christmas show.

Because with such an enormous extravaganza of a show to plan, Helen needs at least a six-month run-up to make sure she puts on the best Christmas play possible for the under fives. And this year is no different, with Father Christmas and the Icicle Bicycle ready and waiting to go.

Her third in a row, Helen is Mrs Christmas where Oxford’s small children are concerned, coming up trumps every year with a truly magical show, which never patronises our toddlers, or dumbs down their experience. “We make it as challenging as possible,” Helen boasts.

So when Oxford Playhouse decided to create an in-house show for the under fives as a pre-panto experience, they knew exactly where to turn. Where does Helen start then?

“My main concern is what children get out of a theatre experience and how to make it easier for them and their parents, because having done a lot of it over the years some theatres get it quite wrong.

“You can’t have mothers dreading going to the theatre and then wondering how to keep their child quiet for the next two hours, or having to leave. That seems really daft. Parents need to be able to get up and move around. You have to plan these things so the shows are very activity orientated.

”And then we invite nurseries in during the rehearsals to try out all the activities in advance, see what works and what doesn’t, and make last minute adjustments. Because it’s the attention to detail, and trial and error, that makes or breaks a good show.”

Anyone who’s been before will know what an amazingly interactive experience the BT Christmas show is, complete with all sorts of theatrical ideas from puppetry to magic, music and technology. But this year Helen has brought in an extra dimension – bicycles – using the power they generate to make the North Pole factories work.

“This is the most Oxford of all the shows, because it has a bicycle theme, just like the Christmas lights on Oxford High Street,” Helen explains. “The storyline is based around the elves in Father Christmas’s workshop frantically making bikes to keep up with their Christmas orders, a massive batch for Oxford, because there are so many scooters, trikes and bikes to make. So I’m really excited about it,” Helen says.

With the first show set in Father Christmas’s post room, the next in the wrapping room, and now the factory, the theme is ongoing. So what inspires Helen when she starts writing the show? “You just have to remember all the things you find really exciting and magic when you’re little. “And it helps knowing who you are making the show for, and where, because a lot of people have already bought their tickets before we even start rehearsals, which is a good incentive to get on with it,” Helen laughs.

“However, it does mean even more hard work for Father Christmas because playing the cello, peddling a bicycle and remembering your lines at the same time, when you are 70 years old, three times a day, isn’t easy.”

SEE IT
Father Christmas and the Icicle Bicycle for children aged 3 to 6 and their families is at the Burton Taylor Studio from tonight until New Year’s Eve.

Call 01865 305305 or see oxfordplayhouse.com