It’s foul-mouthed, sacrilegious and outrageously offensive – so why did I enjoy A Very Naughty Christmas so much?
I mean, I feel bad that I did, but what can I do? There’s something cathartic about watching a show like this where the F-bombs fly amid a flurry of blue jokes and confronting sexual content.
I usually don’t like shows that are smutty, but this one is just so unbridled and bawdy – and funny, which helps. It also helps that the cast is so talented – they can all dance, sing and act – and they all have potty mouths.
It’s like an antidote to Christmas, and a guilty pleasure. I know executive producer Alex Woodward and have watched his trajectory as a producer. While I have interviewed him about this show many times, I have never seen it, until now.
I promised to go this year, so now I get why it’s such a success, with the current season at La Boite running until just before Christmas. They are also doing shows on the Gold Coast and in Melbourne (there are two casts).
The Brisbane cast is led by Matilda Award-winner Steven Rooke, who has the time of his life letting the F-bombs fly and taking the mickey out of the yuletide season. His Santa Claus is a disgrace. I love that.
Joining him at La Boite are returning cast members Daniel Erbacher, Aurélie Roque, Taylah Ferguson, Emily Kristopher, Anthony Craig, Lauren Jimmieson and Lachlan Greenland.
Woodward, also the show’s co-creator, says: “The fun that audiences have at A Very Naughty Christmas is only possible with a cast who bring irreverence and fun to the stage, and don’t take themselves too seriously. Our two casts each bring something special and there’s no doubt in my mind that with these casts, audiences in Melbourne, Brisbane and on the Gold Coast will go straight on Santa’s naughty list when the show takes to the stage.”
Created by Woodward and Daniel Venz in 2017 for fans of shows like Magic Mike, La Clique and The Play That Goes Wrong, A Very Naughty Christmas is a night of festive fun packed with skits, parodied songs, dancing, singing, burlesque and a whole bunch of silliness. But for over 18s only.
Subscribe for updates
It has achieved cult status with its playlist of Christmas classics as you’ve never heard them before.
One of the things I liked about the show was the subversion and the critiquing of Christmas in the age of consumerism. It has a kind of social conscience with some takes on Christmas that will make you think. There’s a song about the materialism of Christmas in which the cast sing that Santa doesn’t like you if you’re poor (I’m paraphrasing). Hilarious but bitingly satirical too. They are clever.
It’s all like a bizarre burlesque perversion and parody of musical theatre. I firmly believe musical theatre deserves this treatment. I should mention they have a red-hot backing band on stage to keep the music pumping.
But why did I enjoy it? Maybe because it is so brazen and so honest. As for the “effing and blinding”, well, I have no objections because that’s the sort of language I use when something goes wrong or someone cuts me off in traffic. Or I realise I have made a terrible mistake in a story. When that happens my F-bombs fly, too.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with swearing. In fact, I actually believe it is good for you. It’s effing cathartic. Pardon the French.
A Very Naughty Christmas continues at La Boite’s Roundhouse Theatre until December 18, before playing the Alex Theatre, St Kilda, Melbourne, until December 21, then The Star, Gold Coast, December 20-21.