Help save Christmas! by Madelaine Empson
‘Twas A Spell Before Christmas, when all through the house
All the wee elves were stirring, for a pantomime blast!
The Pantoloons are back this silly season with their latest show, which will cast a gold and glittery, sparkly spell on audiences at Wairarapa Events Centre on the 19th of December, Palmerston North’s Globe Theatre on the 20th, Lower Hutt’s Little Theatre on the 21st, and Kapiti’s Southward Theatre on the 22nd for four days of festive fun.
A Spell Before Christmas starts in Santa’s workshop, where everything is running smoothly before the big day. The toys are built and the reindeer ready, the cookies baked and the elves behaving (for now). But trouble is a-brewing... Oh no!
Curious Buddy is the elf on a shelf. As the new star of the Christmas calendar who demands green M&Ms in his dressing room, Buddy has let fame go to his head and ignores an important warning on an old bottle marked Do Not Open. Out bursts a magical spell that shatters into tiny sparkles, floats through the workshop, and turns everything and everyone in its path naughty! Eek! It’s not long before Freezle and Elfis (uh-huh-huh) are back to their sneaky, cheeky ways.
Can Santa and the rest of the gang catch the spell before it causes too much chaos and save Christmas?
Writer and director Amanda Stone is well known for reimagining classic fairy and folk tales into madcap, mayhem-filled pantomimes that her children’s theatre company performs across the region in and around the school holidays. The Pantoloons have been around for 13 years, but this is Amanda’s second-ever entirely original story. The first? Last year’s Christmas show! I sense a theme…
“I just love Christmas”, Amanda confirms, chuckling. “I’ve got 15 boxes full of Christmas stuff – actually, I just put some decorations out today.”
“Amanda!” I shriek. “It’s only November!”
Sheepishly, I then remember (and confess) that I just watched a Hallmark Christmas movie yesterday…
Sing along to all your favourite Christmas carols, dance, cheer, and be merry as The Pantoloons cast A Spell Before Christmas.
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« Issue 258, December 2, 2025