Father Christmas / Lyric Hammersmith / 22 November 2013 - 04 January 2014

This winter, Barry McCarthy (King Lear, Almeida; Notes on a Scandal; Fox Searchlight) reprises his role as Father Christmas in the Lyric Hammersmith and Pins and Needles sell-out smash hit. This first ever stage adaptation of the festive classic by eminent children's author Raymond Briggs returns to the Lyric studio for an extended run.

Father Christmas awakes from a dream of summer sun only to realise that it's blooming Christmas Eve and the start of his longest night of the year.

Beloved by generations, Briggs' story is brought vividly to life by Pins and Needles 40 years after the story was first published, using original music played live by Jared Ashe (The Low Road, Royal Court Theatre; Radio Times, The Watermill Theatre), with puppetry built by Max Humphries (The Light Princess, National Theatre; Orpheus, Little Bulb/BAC) and Claire Harvey as puppeteer (The Owl and the Pussycat, Hiccup Theatre; The Tear Thief, Little Angel Theatre and co-founder of The River People).

As part of a new collaboration for this year, a second version of the same production of Father Christmas will play in tandem in the Courtyard Theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from Friday 06 December to Saturday 11 January.

Dates Friday 22 November 2013 - Saturday 04 January 2014

Times 9.30am, 10.30am, 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 12.30pm, 1pm, 2pm, 2.30pm & 6.30pm

Tickets £10 adults, £8 under 16s

Bookings 020 8741 6850 / www.lyric.co.uk

Suitable for under 6s