Is it a panto? Oh no it isn’t! Listen to extracts from rehearsals.

‘Right everyone, stop rubbing Norman.’ Andrea Montgomery pushes open the double doors at All Souls Church Hall in Belfast, and declares: ‘Culture Northern Ireland is here.’

Norman, in case you are wondering, is the genie in Carol’s Christmas, a new seasonal comedy written by comedian, author and actor, Nuala McKeever. ‘You can’t have a Christmas play,’ remarks actor, Karl O’Neill, who plays the dude in the turban, ‘without a genie, can you?’

Carol’s Christmas is McKeever and Montgomery’s eighth collaboration. They brainstormed the idea when on a long drive home together early this year, and both author and director agreed that they wanted to end the year ‘with a straightforward comedy, something that was a lot of a fun’.

What came of that conversation was a fast-paced, physical play with a lot of heart, if rehearsals are anything to go by.

Read the rest of the article on CultureNorthernIreland.