Christmas With The Garretts
After last year’s unfortunate cancellation due to the theatre closing, we’re hoping that this year we’ll be bringing this new show with some familiar faces to the stage for Christmas 2026. CHRISTMAS WITH THE GARRETTS sees your favourite characters from Walk Like A Man back, along with a couple of new ones, as they get ready for a Christmas that might be a little different.
Outline
In Christmas With The Garretts we see the Garrett family preparing for Christmas. This will be their first Christmas without Jack, since his career change took him performing across the world. Past herself, mum Michelle is hoping her recently-widowed best friend and confidante, Sue, can help get her through it all, however, she wasn’t expecting Sue to be so distracted.
The unexpected arrival of a Christmas visitor has Mick very suspicious and he takes counsel from the regular barstool preachers in The Queen’s Head. With his old pal Derek now gone, Mick has to rely on Ray the barman or Eddie the Mackem for opinion, but all are a million miles away from the story about to unfold around new arrival, Chris.
For the uninitiated, Christmas With The Garretts is based on the characters from the BlackStar Maniacs stage play, Walk Like A Man (performing at Laurel’s Theatre 9th-20th September). This is what the reviews had to say about its first run in September 2024.
“It’s a play that has everything – it has grit, it has real heart, authentic and charismatic performances from its cast.”
“Walk Like A Man is a proper Geordie triumph”
“Soulful, relatable and so instantly recognisable, Walk Like A Man made a triumphant debut at Gosforth Civic Theatre.”
“Artistically speaking, the play brilliantly explores acceptance and the variety of ways in which working class men express their love and support.”
“The humour, the dialogue and the interactions between characters are as clean a representation of Geordie subculture as you’ll see on stage.”
“Walk Like a Man offers a modern insight into working class northern life with some laugh out loud moments.”
“I’d previously never felt like reaching for a pen and paper mid-play, to just note the lines being exchanged.”