As per my usual end-of-year tradition, there’s only one Christmassy production I’ll attend, and that’s the Christmas play at Oxford’s Old Fire Station. Instead of the traditional panto, for the past few years the OFS has been putting on a Christmas-themed play that’s primarily targeted at grown-ups, and tends to focus around Christmas as a difficult time for many people.

Now, I realise that that description makes it sound a rather dreary affair, but that’s absolutely not the case. Last year’s Snowflake took a tough, nuanced look at a family torn apart by politics, but beginning to heal. This year’s offering is very different, but still takes a focus on family and togetherness that would melt even the Scroogiest of hearts.

The Last Noel takes place in a Christmas living room.  Tess, a student home from university for the holidays is stealing Baileys and chilling out, while her Uncle Mike complains about preparing dinner and having to wait until his sister Gail (Tess’s mother) arrives before he can start eating the canapés. Mike’s mother, Alice, bustles back and forwards from the kitchen, sipping sherry and trying to keep the peace. The scenario is utterly relatable – the bickering, warmth, the constant nibbling. We all laugh in recognition at the tasting of the seasonal crisps – “clementine and frankincense”.

The family is waiting for Gail to arrive, and as is traditional while they wait, they each tell a favourite family story. Alice’s offering is The Lighthouse Keeper, a fable which her mother told her, and which she has passed on to her daughter and granddaughter. Mike’s story is an absurd and boozy story about the night before Gail’s wedding when the bride went missing. Tess retells The Night before Christmas, but re-imagines it in the same way her mother would do for her as a child, bringing herself into the tale. The stories weave together to paint a wonderful rounded picture of a woman we never actually see on stage, but who forms the heart of the play.

This is, in part, a musical, and writer Chris Bush has done something very clever in making this work well and not seem cheesy. Mike’s Twelve Drinks of Stag-Do has the audience laughing, and Tess’s confessional Australia is lovely. The musical arrangements by Matt Winkworth are an absolute triumph – I would buy the soundtrack to this play in a heartbeat!

The Last Noel is a warm-hearted story about the importance of surrounding yourself with the people you love, even when everything isn’t perfect. Treat yourself to a visit to the Old Fire Station, and get yourself in the Christmas spirit!    ★★★★☆    @BookingAround    11^th December 2019