Edinburgh, are you coming to the Unicorn Christmas Party?

Running from Fri 8 to Sun 24 Dec 2023, Minicorns, Teeny tiny corns, and Biggiecorns are all invited to the Unicorn Christmas Party. Hosted by magical unicorns Melody and Luna at Capital Theatre’s Studio in the heart of Edinburgh, audiences of all ages are on the welcome list. Co-produced by Capital Theatres and Raw Material, it promises to be the most sparkly party in town. The show’s creator performers/unicorns, Sarah Rose Graber and Ruxy Cantir sat down for a wee chat with theQR…

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So Sarah and Ruxy, let’s start at the very beginning…

Sarah: Well, our Unicorn Christmas Party is hosted by Luna and Melody who are good friends with Santa. Santa, they find out, has lost his sparkle, and may need to cancel Christmas! They step up, and set about recruiting all the Minicorns, Teeny-tinycorns and Biggiecorns (kids, toddlers, and adults) to throw the best party ever to reinvigorate Santa!

So expect lots of dancing, songs, and dancing along.

Ruxy: We build up the energy in the room through different sparkly unicorn set pieces designed to get the party space ready. We’ve been running another show, the Unicorn Dance Party since 2021, using these same characters. So our initial forays into ‘Unicorn land’ have been in Summer mainly, as part of a 3 year commission between Eden Court in Inverness, Aberdeen Performing Art, and Capital Theatres.

This is our final year, and we’re finally bringing the unicorns to Edinburgh.

So what can your audiences expect from a Unicorn Christmas Party?

Sarah: Both of our backgrounds are in clowning, and everything in the show is structured as games, with plenty of opportunities for surprises. The story moves very quickly. New things pop up continually because we’re specifically working with the attention spans of our Minicorns. Our Unicorn Christmas Party is still super fun for parents and grandparents – we view it as a genuine family show.

Ruxy: Our other unicorn show is set outdoors where we’ve had chances to try out a lot of things, particularly different types of interaction with the audience. So we’re bringing some well-honed interaction to the indoor show. The Unicorn Christmas Party is full of games we all play together – there’s no fourth wall – we are all together, all of the time. It definitely keeps kids and adults engaged.

Sarah: Whenever we’re making work, we are making something we are actively loving, not just something we’re proud of as makers. We’re doing up to 2 shows a day, we want it to be fun for us as well! Joy and playfulness make it inclusive, but also our intentionality in music choices! The playlist includes Sinatra, the Ramones, Kelly Clarkson, and Ariana Grande (we also love a bit of Mariah – no spoilers!). It’s a chance for Biggiecorns and Minicorns to dance together, to engage with movement even if that’s just clapping along. You don’t have to be a dancer to enjoy it either – if you just want to sit and soak it all up, you are welcome!

How do you feel about bringing the Unicorn Christmas Party to the Studio in Edinburgh?

Ruxy: We’ve got used to bringing the show inside over the past two years at Eden Court and The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. It does offer much more control over certain aspects of the performance. Simon Gane, our lighting designer is a master sparkler! He’s amazing and has given us more to work with in terms of visual spectacle.

Sarah: Capital Theatres have been great – so supportive, and the tech team has been game for everything we’ve asked! The pre-show area is all decked out with activity sheets, decorations and photo ops. The whole space is being completely transformed – so expect ALL the bells and whistles.

Ruxy: It’s also worth saying that we’ve done a lot of rural touring, and not very much in the Scottish central belt. We’re Glasgow-based. It’s nice to be able to share our Unicorn Christmas Party near our homes!

Sarah: It’s true! We’ve closed up a lot of miles. We’ve worked all over the country. You could count the number of times we’ve played Edinburgh on one hand. So it’s truly special to be here, and so magical around Christmas – as well as being a central hub for the arts worldwide.

Now, is there anything that Biggiecorns, Minicorns and Teeny Tinycorns can do to prepare? What would their Rocky montage be if they are getting into training?

Sarah: It’s always really joyous seeing people dressed up. We never intentionally put out a call for people to dress up, they just do! It’s a welcome treat for us.

We even have twilight shows we’re doing: only 2, where kids can turn up in their PJs, and get some chocolate milk and a bedtime snack. There are cushions everywhere!

There’s nothing anyone needs to do to prepare – they just need a willingness to have a great time. We’ll take care of the rest (wink)! Everyone’s welcome however suits them best. Show off your moves, or just bop your head.

As theatre makers, what place does Festive theatre-making hold in your hearts?

Ruxy: It’s a blessing. Winter is a notoriously quiet time for freelancers of all kinds. It’s so nice to finish the year delivering work we’ve created and bringing joy to wee ones and their families. Then we can take a well-deserved rest in the dark, cold of January! We’re just so happy to be able to consider ourselves part of this year’s Christmas theatre offerings!

Sarah: For quite a few little people, this will be the first show they ever see. We feel immensely honoured to be that entry point for families. Particularly during the cost of living crisis, they’ve saved up to be able to have this special moment, and we will give 110% to live up to that! We’re also active on social media, and low engaging with folks coming along to shows, and then keeping in touch.

We want to be something they remember forever. It’s a 45-minute show, and you will definitely get your money’s worth! We’re gonna make people feel, laugh, and leave wanting more!

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