Former Shameless star Rebecca Atkinson, A Touch Of Cloth’s Navin Chowdhry and former Coronation Street regulars Craig Gazey and Craig Kelly will star in the Soho Theatre production of The Night Before Christmas.
The quartet will appear in a new musical version of Anthony Neilson’s alternative Christmas tale, which begins with an elf breaking into Gary’s warehouse and claiming, in his defence, that he is one of Santa’s helpers.
Atkinson, who played Karen Maguire in the long-running Channel 4 drama, will play hooker Cherry in the tuneful production, with Chowdhry, best known as Kurt in comic drama Teachers, as Gary. Kelly, who played Luke Strong in Coronation Street, will play Simon, with Gazey, who will take to the West End stage in The Full Monty next year, playing the green-clad miscreant.
The production, which will be directed by the venue’s Artistic Director Steve Marmion, begins its festive run on 29 November.
The Night Before Christmas is just one of the offerings available during the festive season at the theatre famous for blending new writing with comedy and cabaret.
The December revival of the Nabokov and Soho theatre production of dysfunctional, voyeuristic and funny love story Blink, sketch troupe Late Night Gimp Fight presenting Gimpmas and ‘piano-wielding prophet’ Sue Timms exploring all the festive season has to offer are also among the presents that will be under Soho’s tree this Christmas.