Checking in for an Elf Tech
Join me at Blackpool’s Opera House where it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Santa Land is upstage right. The North Pole, centre stage, while giant inflatable red and white striped candy canes frame a massive LED screen.
Super-sized baubles and Christmas presents tied up with gold ribbons, and the obligatory decorated Fir tree are also scattered around the stage, Elf: A Christmas Arena Spectacular has arrived at Blackpool’s Opera House for it’s tech - theatre speak for technical rehearsal.
With the 14 strong cast gathered in the stalls as the crew get to work on stage, repositioning the festive trucks - Santa Land and the North Pole are disappearing into the wings - it’s the beginning of one of the longest days of any production. A time when props are introduced, transitions are timed, cuts and additions are made and a whole host of unforeseen eventualities are addressed as and when they arise.
As tech days go, this one is unusual. Although the show will indeed play the Christmas week in the theatre housed within Blackpool’s World Famous Winter Gardens, the rest of the tour will bring it to some of the UK’s largest arenas, from Liverpool to Aberdeen, Glasgow to Birmingham and Brighton to Nottingham. Consequently, today, even the wings are being put into service as playing areas - it’s going to be a big one.
Explaining all this to the company now assembled on stage is ground-breaking director and co-producer Jon Conway, who is also taking the opportunity to remind his charges of the importance of warming up before and keeping the chill out between shows - the weather is taking a particularly chilly turn.
Additionally he reminds them of the sheer scale on which they will be playing. We’re in the 2,900 capacity Opera House, which is around a third of the size of the arenas Elf will play, “No namby pamby acting,” he instructs.
“Make everything BIG”, he adds before introducing Sam, who is in charge of sound, “You don’t want to upset him,” he jokes, “he is in charge of your microphones.” In the massive arenas awaiting them, the cast will certainly be relying on Sam’s mics.
With introductions out of the way, it’s time for the company to work their way through the entire show, scene by scene, something that will take around five hours, at the end of which everything from death-defying aerial acts to breathing taking acrobatics and so much more will have been comfortably incorporated into the action and big song and dance numbers.
To ensure the latter are executed to the move, the ever present choreographer watches from the front of the stage, ensuring her visions are brought to life despite various scene changes continue around her.
As the day continues, Santa Land reappears and is adorned with larger than life sparkly gold, white, red and green garlands - although if this were Jack and the Beanstalk, they could also be the Giant’s outrageous boa collection.
The magic continues as the cast disperse into the audience for a snowball fight - giant snowballs will bounce from audience member to audience member having been released from the back of the auditorium.
At the same time, co-producer and co-star Jordan Conway (Jon and Jordan are the father and son team behind the extravaganza) fires smaller snowballs into the stalls from his snow cannon. You can tell he’s enjoying it.
Building towards its climax the star of the show Steven Serlin, no less than Buddy the Elf himself, ratchets up his already increditable energy as the cast find themselves skating around ‘Central Park’ - never an easy thing to do when the stage is raked at a jaunty incline. Still, everyone remains on their feet.
The choreographer is quickly back in the midst of the action for the big finale and suddenly, there is Santa on his sleigh, flying across the stage and over the heads of the cast, waving to an imaginary audience. It may only be a handful of folk right now, but there will be thousand of screaming kids nightly from Saturday, when the show opens.
Even during this un-costumed tech it’s obvious this will be a magical moment guaranteed to bring a smile to the faces of those on stage and off whatever their age, which is exactly what Elf: A Christmas Arena Spectacular sets out to do - make you smile and forget the real world for a couple of hours.
Oh, and did I mention there’s also a NYPD buggy in the mix? No? Well, you’ll just have to come along to discover how that fits into proceedings. You won’t be disappointed, and watch out for the familiar face driving it - I’m saying no more.
Ticket are available from www.worldsbiggestpanto.com
©️Líam Rudden Media
Available for syndication free of charge with credit. Please email: media@liamrudden.com with notification of use.