It has been a dream to write a Christmas play and bring magic and cheer in the form of theatre at this wonderful time of the year

Writer of Blitzen On The Tyne, Danielle Slade on writing the show.

As a children's writer it has always been my dream to write a Christmas play. To bring magic and cheer in the form of theatre at one of the most wonderful times of year is truly a blessing, and the journey towards writing Blitzen on the Tyne has been exactly that.

After various chats with Live Theatre’s Artistic Director Jack McNamara and New Work Producer JD telling them how much I would love to write a children's play for Live Theatre (after also working with the theatre in other areas for almost 10 years) I was super excited when they asked me to write the 2024 Wintry Tales show! I've written a number of children's shows which have been produced and toured the region, but this would be my first Christmas special!

The greatest thing about Wintry Tales is how involved the children are. I write for children because I truly and deeply care about how children see the world, and through my other plays I have always made sure that I research thoroughly with the target audience! So it was a thrill to see how organic the process of Wintry is. I spent 6 sessions with children from different schools developing ideas for the basis of the script. This could be anything from helping me with Blitzen's characteristics, to inventing a side kick from scratch (they did both!). The children helped me write scenes, came up with plot lines and also gave me feedback on my first draft! I truly believe that to write for children you MUST listen to them, absorb their ideas, and see them as your peers within the writing process. I understand that it is my job to entertain through my script and to send a message to children and families, but making sure that every element is designed and developed with actual children is top priority. Their imaginations never fail to blow you away!

The biggest challenge so far in writing Blitzen is that this is my first script writing for two actors. This has been slightly restrictive as the children have given us so many big and beautiful ideas and characters, so trying to bring all of these characters into the play and move the story along with only two actors has felt a bit like a game of Tetris. But the wonderful production team and director at Live Theatre (Becky Morris) have given so much support and so many exciting ways of working around this with fabulous tricks and theatrical techniques. I think the children are going to be thrilled! They've not only helped with the script, they've designed puppets, the set, the music… the whole lot!

I've had such a laugh creating some of the characters, and love that Live Theatre encourage the Geordieness of this show. I think the show is funny, relatable, has a lot of heart, and hopefully will leave the children feeling like they can find their own magic deep inside their hearts, whenever they want!



Blitzen On The Tyne plays at Live Theatre from Sat 7 - Sun 22 Dec 2024.  Find out more & book tickets here.