Review: A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, Vimeo

There's magic in every moment of the new digital release of Emma Rice's remarkable stage adaptation of A Child's Christmas in Wales.

Filmed live at the Emma Rice Company's home venue The Lucky Chance – a converted chapel in Somerset that seats 80 – adapter/director Rice captures the heart of Dylan Thomas's famous Christmas poem, with its rolling rhythm and evocative imagery that will appeal to all ages.

Don't expect grand West End special effects, as the joy of Rice's sell-out show is its simplicity.

There's a small cast of four, with a diminutive Katy Owen as swaggering Thomas, delivering his wondrous words in true Richard Burton-esque fashion.

Owen and her fellow performers ­– excellent Tom Fox, Robyn Sinclair and Simon Oskarsson ­– multi-skill like mad as various Welsh villagers, including Mrs Prothero and her son Jim (a charming Fox) the local postman and Aunty Dosie. Sinclair's Aunty Hannah sings a beautiful song about bleeding hearts and death, while Oskarsson is superb on the trumpet.

This is pure physical theatre, with slapstick, clever choreography, puppetry and innovative use of props. Everything from skating on metal plates, chucking white rolled-up sock snowballs, and cutting out paper dolls, a star and flakes of snow that enchantingly feel like the real thing.

Original lyrics by Rice capture the natural cadence and warmth of Thomas's lilting language, set to music by Ian Ross ­– who plays an upright piano and is terrific at getting the audience to join in on the chorus of "Ar Hyd Y Nos" ("All Through the Night").

The film – with useful captions to identify each story section ­– captures impish goings on, from sliding down a fireman's pole and scrambling up a ladder, to scaling the top of the roof of the little house on stage. Bells are rung, a gong is stuck, a kazoo is played and blue noses are fetchingly worn.  

Simon Baker's costume and set design transports us back to a time before Amazon deliveries and traffic jams on the M1. When people wore boots, flat caps, waistcoats and stripy jumpers. And gifts encompassed a whistle, painting book, sugar cigarettes and jelly babies – but never a catapult.

In keeping with the mood of how things used to be, Baker displays black-and-white portrait projections on a moon. They introduce us to Thomas's vivid characters, as well as reminding us of those we celebrated with throughout our own past Christmases.

Just like a dog is for life and not just for Christmas, this new digital release of A Child's Christmas in Wales stands the test of time. It isn't just for the festive season. It's for watching again and again throughout the year. It's magic.

A Child's Christmas in Wales is available through the Emma Rice Company website: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/achildschristmasinwales