Best Play Set During Xmas

Season’s Greetings (Alan Ayckbourn)

Over the years I’ve passed up the opportunity to see lots of his plays, I regret that now that they are no longer much produced, the best rank with Feydeau in plot construction.

Tonally SG is quite a dark play.

The relationship between Eddie and Pattie is not a comfortable watch. Phyllis and Rachel clearly have huge issues with self image/confidence.

Belinda is clearly deeply unhappy in spite of her outward bravado.

Using farce as the basis to highlight the dysfunction and despair whilst maintaining a largely comic front is the sign of a well crafted play for me.

I really wish I had done it as a season with Abigail's Party as they feel as if they would work well in tandem with shared casting (and possibly the same set!)

I saw a play called Christmas Eve in Bath with Niamh Cusack and Patrick Baladi a few years ago. A two hander thriller set in an interrogation room, I remember really enjoying it.

Twelfth Night of course only references the Xmas season in its title (or one of its titles) and I've only ever seen it set at Xmas once, but that production was the best.

Isn't The Lion in Winter set at Christmas, perhaps not quite historically accurate. great play.

All worthy contenders, I'm sure, but the 'winner' is John Godber's The Office Party, obvs. 🙂