Created by, and starring Sarah Rose Graber and Ruxy Cantir, Unicorn Christmas Party is a festive and fantastical treat for young people and families, co-production by Capital Theatres and Raw Material.
Find your inner unicorn and join glittering, magical unicorns, Melody and Luna, as they bring a little winter sunshine, moonlight, good times and a lot of boogie into everyone’s lives, with easy-to-follow dance moves and a soundtrack of Christmas hits.
There will be something for all ages with Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Run Run Rudolph, Merry Christmas Everyone, All I Want for Christmas is You and many more!
Invitations to the Unicorn Christmas Party have been sent out, and audiences are getting ready – but for those yet to RSVP, would you mind giving us a flavour of the show and what can be expected?
Expect fun, sparkle, play, and dancing! Luna and Melody are looking for help from similarly minded unicorns – minicorns, teeny tiny corns, and biggiecorns – to get Santa’s sparkle back. And they have a plan to do that by throwing the best Christmas party ever full of festive cheer. Not to mention that the unicorns can’t wait to welcome all the Edinburgh (and beyond) unicorns in their sparkly enchanted forest – it’s a true visual spectacle, with loads of surprises along the way. We can’t give too much away, but just think one word…. mirrorballs.
It looks like there’s plenty of colour and festive staging for the show, not to mention the dazzling costumes, can you give us some insight on the team and the creation of the show?
We worked with an amazing unicorn team to create Unicorn Christmas Party. Our producer-corns, Raw Material Arts worked with us to develop the concept for this festive show, with support from Kenny Miller – set and costume designer, Jennie Loof – our wardrobe supervisor, Simon Gane – master sparkler and lighting designer, and Zoe Williams – our techicorn, really the unicorn who keeps us right during show days.
We had extra unicorn help in putting this show together from fabulous sparkly beings Chris JS Wilson, Tyler Collins, Kim Donohoe and Pete Lannon to whom we always dedicate a unicorn bow.
We created it in 2021 and we’ve danced and had fun with hundreds of unicorns across Scotland at Christmas time. We can’t wait to meet some new Edinburgh festive fun-loving unicorns!
The show contains some classic hits of the Christmas season, what was the choice behind these, and what are your favourite festive songs (which maybe didn’t make it in)?
There are so many great Christmas songs and it was really hard narrowing it down! We definitely wanted to make sure there was something for everyone, so there’s a bit of Frank Sinatra for those who love the classic crooners and then some punk with the Ramones singing Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight), and then a couple more bubbly pop tunes with Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson. In terms of a favourite, we both love Chuck Berry’s Run Rudolph Run which we rock out to in the show. It’s the kind of song that just makes you want to get on your feet and bust some moves. And then who doesn’t love a bit of Mariah at Christmas time, right?!
There’s a large number of festive shows on offer across Scotland – What sets Unicorn Christmas Party apart from similar shows?
This show is a fantastical and joyous offer for wee ones and their families. We need BIG help from all the unicorns out there to help Santa, so the show itself is interactive and playful! We invite everyone to join in the fun and dance with easy-to-follow moves or to just do your own thing. So everyone is welcome to join the party or watch the fun unfold. Although we’re quite keen to learn new sparkly dance moves too, so we love it when audiences bring their A game and can show off their stuff!
When you arrive at the theatre, there are colouring sheets and a photo station opportunity. Plus everyone gets their own secret envelope with a little surprise from the unicorns to be revealed later in the show which makes for an exciting moment! And if we haven’t sold it to you already, Unicorn Christmas Party is THE sparkliest thing you’ll see this festive season. We’re not overpromising, there are tremendous amounts of sparkle in this show, bring your sunglasses… And get ready to have a great time!
There’s a special evening to be had for those looking to join a ‘Twilight Party’, could you explain to readers a little more about these events?
We wanted to create an experience for families that was going to be memorable. By offering a Twilight Party, little minicorns (and biggiecorns!) can come along to the show in their pyjamas. We’ll have cushions, so everyone can get cosy, and each person will get a delicious bedtime snack and some yummy chocolate milk to enjoy during the show. We know this is such a special time of year spending time with the people you love and we thought this was a wonderful way to celebrate! Plus we love chocolate milk, so any excuse to have some and share it around is a win in our books!
It’s been a long old year, so what’s in store for in 2024
We are excited to be kicking off the new year at Sprogmanay at the National Museum of Scotland with our Unicorn Dance Party show. So if you enjoyed Unicorn Christmas Party, this one is definitely for you! We’ll also be performing our interactive, physical challenge clown show, The Refs, at Cumbernauld Theatre in January. Graber kicks off filming as the new presenter on Scope with Imagine Learning, a new series for young people that dives into the hottest topics in media and culture and Cantir will be performing Pickled Republic (read our five-star review), a one-woman physical theatre show for adults at the Manipulate Festival in February 2024.
And then, no spoilers, but… we’re working with some international companies to tour our celebrated eco-conscious family show, Two in a Barrel, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for our continued adventures.
Finally, and most importantly, Rainbows or Glitter?
Don’t make us choose! Glitter is sparkly and rainbows are colourful. We’ve never been able to decide, which is why our unicorn garb and set is both colourful and sparkly. It really is… the only way to unicorn.
Unicorn Christmas Party runs at The Studio, Potterrow from December 8th – 24th.
Tickets for which may be obtained here.
Suitable for families, and young people ages 7 and under
Review by Dominic Corr
Editor for Corr Blimey, and a freelance critic for Scottish publications, Dominic has been writing freelance for several established and respected publications such as The Skinny, Edinburgh Festival Magazine, The Reviews Hub, In Their Own League The Wee Review and Edinburgh Guide. As of 2023, he is a panel member and judge of the Critic’s Award for Theatre Scotland and a member of the UK Film Critics.
contact@corrblimey.uk
