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Children take the lead in Christmas play

BBC A former church hall is decorated with Christmas trees and fairy lights. Primary school children run around the theatre set dressed in their red school uniforms. BBC
Children from St Thomas Primary School explore Alibi's Emmanuel Hall during the immersive play Winterwood.

Theatre companies have worked with children in Exeter to create a Christmas play for young people.

Unlike a traditional play, Winterwood is an immersive experience.

Actors from Above Bounds and Angel Exit Theatre held workshops at St Thomas Primary School to help the pupils devise characters that live in a magical woodland.

A piece of promenade theatre, that allows families to walk around an enchanted forest was then built inside Emmanuel Hall, created by the Alibi project.

A woman dressed in a Christmas inspired costume, in red and green, is talking to school children who are exploring part of the set. It is made to look like a gingerbread house. There are jars of biscuits on shelves and a red till to serve customers.
Inside the Ever-After-Emporium an actor performs a story about the ingredients used to make the gingerbread house.

At the experience, there are no seats, no ice creams or interval, but groups of characters in forest clearings that the audience meet and hear their stories.

The children invented a lady who lives in a gingerbread house and a man who decorates Christmas trees with magic beans.

The professional actors took the people and animals the children imagined and weaved them into a story.

Performer and co-creator Emma Baskeyfield, from theatre company Above Bounds, said: "We told the children about the forest and we let them fill in the gaps."

She added: "They came up with some great ideas, like a fluffy fox with a light up tail."

A man in a blue suit and red tie is surrounded by Christmas trees and fairy lights.
Dan Jenkins said the work saw "hands-on creativity and imagination"

Lucas, who visited with his school and helped create the characters, said: "It's magical. I loved the character Mylo the Fox."

Dan Jenkins, the head teacher of St Thomas Primary School, said the play was a great story-telling tool.

He said: "This is an interactive activity with hands-on creativity and imagination."

Alibi, formerly known as Theatre Alibi, has recently transformed from a theatre company into a child-focused arts venue.

It provided the performance space with the aim of it being accessible to families on a budget.

Chief executive officer Debbie Bucella said: "We believe every child should have access to affordable arts and culture."

Winterwood is on at Emmanuel Hall in St Thomas, Exeter, until 5 January.

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