My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

FATHER CHRISTMAS Opens Tonight at the Lyric Hammersmith

By:

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 tonight 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

Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Original Score - Top 3
1. The Rescues , The Rescues - The Lost Boys
38.8% of votes
2. Jim Barne, Kit Buchan - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)
26.7% of votes
3. Cinco Paul - Schmigadoon!
23.5% of votes

Need more UK Regional Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...

Local Shows
Burn the Floor: Supernova in UK Regional Burn the Floor: Supernova
Hull City Hall (6/30-6/30)
Paul Merton & Suki Webster''s Improv Show in UK Regional Paul Merton & Suki Webster''s Improv Show
Chelmsford Theatre (10/31-10/31)
Fawlty Towers Weekend 06/06/2026 in UK Regional Fawlty Towers Weekend 06/06/2026
Mercure Hull Grange Park Hotel (6/06-6/07)
Count Arthur Strong - And it''s Goodnight from Me! in UK Regional Count Arthur Strong - And it''s Goodnight from Me!
Palace Theatre, Southend (4/08-4/08)
Calendar Girls in UK Regional Calendar Girls
O2 City Hall Newcastle (8/15-8/15)
Sounds of the 60s with The Zoots at Mowlem Swanage Mon 17th August in UK Regional Sounds of the 60s with The Zoots at Mowlem Swanage Mon 17th August
The Mowlem (8/17-8/17)
IQ | THE LEGENDARY CHRISTMAS BASH at Islington Assembly Hall - London in UK Regional IQ | THE LEGENDARY CHRISTMAS BASH at Islington Assembly Hall - London
Islington Assembly Hall (12/19-12/19)
ASOMVEL at The Underworld - London in UK Regional ASOMVEL at The Underworld - London
The Underworld (11/15-11/15)
Count Arthur Strong - And it''s Goodnight from Me! in UK Regional Count Arthur Strong - And it''s Goodnight from Me!
King's Hall (4/21-4/21)
G4 Christmas 2026 - Christchurch Priory in UK Regional G4 Christmas 2026 - Christchurch Priory
Christchurch Priory (11/07-11/07)


Videos