When Brisbane producer Alex Woodward dreamt up an adults-only Christmas show for a lark in 2017 he couldn’t know it would be the gift that just kept giving.
A Very Naughty Christmas was born downstairs at the Brisbane Powerhouse and it was a huge hit. It has become an annual pilgrimage for droves of theatregoers … 25,000 and counting.
Like many pieces of independent theatre, the show began life with little fanfare. Woodward had recently graduated from the Bachelor of Musical Theatre program at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and was keen to create the kind of boozy, irreverent show he and his friends would enjoy. So he and co-creator Daniel Venz gathered a merry band of helpers and A Very Naughty Christmas was born.
“I wanted to capture this essence of Christmas and something you could go to with your mates,” Woodward recalls. “But, also, a show where you can laugh about your racist uncle.”
Despite the inaugural production being hashed out in just a month, the foundations were laid for a more solid return season. The first two years featured a storyline but that was jettisoned for a more modular revue approach built from assorted skits, songs and acts.
“I feel like we really started to find what the formula was by year three,” Woodward says. “It was interesting. We found this collection of people who don’t feel like they have anything to go to, or an event they want to be at in December. And this fit the brief for them, which was really cool.”
Woodward and Venz plan each show in July, collaborating with musical directors Tom Collins and Matthew Semple to create original numbers and racy re-arrangements of Christmas classics.
Now in its seventh iteration, A Very Naughty Christmas features its family of local performers, three of whom have been with the show from the start. The production is created from scratch each year, with the cast and creative team working together to pitch and test new material.
“We try and make a really safe rehearsal room environment,” Woodward says.
“People can try out jokes and test things, and you can get a gauge in the room when people say jokes for the first time. We have a pretty diverse set of people in the cast and the creative team so you can get a read on them with what they think of the jokes.”
But while the aim each Christmas is to have the audience in stitches, there are limits.
“There has been years where we’ve had jokes in, we’ll do them for the first couple of shows and then be like, ‘Yeah, this isn’t working and it’s probably too far’, so we just cut them,” Woodward explains.
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“Comedy is an ever-changing beast. What’s funny five years ago isn’t necessarily funny now. So we always try to be aware to adapt and change.”
A Very Naughty Christmas continues its Brisbane run at the Roundhouse Theatre (home of La Boite) at Kelvin Grove, where it transferred last year.
For the first time there will also be shorter seasons on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne. Woodward says producing this surprise hit has shown him the importance of serving an overlooked market and giving them bang for their buck.
“At the end of the day, theatre is to entertain people. This show taught me about taking care of your audience and thinking of your audience first.”
A Very Naughty Christmas plays the Roundhouse Theatre, Kelvin Grove, November 30 to December 13; The Star Gold Coast December 23 (two shows); and Melbourne December 7-23.
averynaughtychristmas.com
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