All they want for Christmas? A very naughty Brissie show en route to London
It’s the risque show that has won over Brisbane audiences – and now A Very Naughty Christmas is set to open in London
The exuberant cast of A Very Naughty Christmas, the Brisbane show set to open in London soon. Photo: Joel Devereux
It will be the most audacious assault on London since Bazza McKenzie landed when raunchy Brisbane cabaret show A Very Naughty Christmas opens in the British capital in November.
This adults-only Christmas show, now in its eighth year and with a dedicated following, is about to play Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and London, where it opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant with previews from November 28.
Created in 2017 by local theatre maestros Alex Woodward and Daniel Venz, A Very Naughty Christmas has achieved cult status, selling more than 40,000 tickets in Australia and growing rapidly across three Australian markets.
The show is presented by Woodward Productions. The London season will be presented in collaboration with London company Glass Half Full Productions.
Woodward, who is currently employed with the partnerships team at Brisbane Festival, says there’s a huge market in London still largely untapped by Australian shows. Local outfits Circa and Dead Puppet Society have blazed the trail, but Woodward says London is in for quite a different treat with his saucy show.
“It’s very exciting and I almost can’t believe it,” Woodward says. “Dan and I thought it would go well there and we went over recently and did some auditions for the cast. We will have three casts working at the same time in Brisbane, Melbourne and London.”
Woodward’s other racy show, Plied and Prejudice, is now knocking them dead at Northshore, Hamilton. He thinks A Very Naughty Christmas will be “a bit of a shock to their systems” when it opens in London, but he reckons “Aussie audiences love it so the English should too“.
“Writing a risqué show is always risky, but Australian audiences have embraced this show in a way we could never have imagined seven years ago,” he says. “We knew it was time to take the show abroad and we couldn’t be more excited to bring A Very Naughty Christmas to the UK with the team at Glass Half Full. They are the same people who worked on The Wider Earth with Dead Puppet Society when it played in London.
“We know Londoners are going to love the opportunity to let loose and indulge in some adult-only ‘elf-care’ as they knock back a few wines and maybe a margarita at our funny, silly and irreverent show.”
With a playlist of Christmas classics, as you’ve never heard them before, A Very Naughty Christmas is a comedy concert packed with stand-up, skits, parodied songs, dancing, singing, burlesque and a whole bunch of silliness.
It suits fans of Magic Mike, La Clique and The Play That Goes Wrong, and is a sexy, silly, naughty and hilarious take on Christmas. But strictly for over 18s only.
A Very Naughty Christmas plays La Boite Theatre, Brisbane, November 21 to December 18; The Star, Gold Coast, December 20-21; Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London, UK, November 28 to January 11. Go to the website to join the waitlist.
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