As part of the CPT’s 30th Birthday celebrations, Sh!t Theatre are back with two cult Christmas classics pitted against one another: ‘Sing-A-Long A Muppet Christmas Carol’ vs. ‘Shit Actually’.
Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit are disciplined in music, performance art and long-form improvisation. They make politically engaged comedy shows using live documentary, song and multimedia and describe their work as political and personal with a D.I.Y aesthetic.
Louise Mothersole and Rebecca Biscuit are disciplined in music, performance art and long-form improvisation. They make politically engaged comedy shows using live documentary, song and multimedia and describe their work as political and personal with a D.I.Y aesthetic.
Now, for December 2024, they take The Best Christmas film of all time (Muppets Christmas Carol) and the Worst Christmas film of all time (Love Actually) and give them both the Sh!t Theatre treatment.
To learn more about the project we sat down with Louise and Rebecca to learn more.
What can you tell me about the two shows?
We started Sing-Along-A-Muppet Christmas Carol in our living room in 2011. We now tour to the country’s best mid-scale Arts Council funded venues with our copy of Disney’s Muppets Christmas Carol that we don’t tell them is illegally downloaded. It sells much better than anything we, or anyone, could write. Don’t know why we bother making anything else. People really do love it.
Our other Christmas show, Sh!t Actually, is sold out, immediately negating our point above about making stuff. It was a joke idea for a Christmas show when Camden People’s Theatre asked us if we had an idea, and we lied and said yes.
What inspired you to first create the idea of the shows?
Creating an idea of a show is so much more fun than making them! Much less heartache! Much less terror! In the case of these two, the inspiration for the creation of the ideas was one Christmas film we love, and one we hated.
How did you approach selecting which films to feature?
See above. Muppets Christmas Carol is a perfect film. We will fight you if you disagree.
What are the biggest challenges you face when you create the show?
Money, our own minds. But mostly money - or lack thereof. Making up hundreds of goody bags for our audience every day is also quite challenging.
Where did your arts career begin?
We met at university - Queen Mary University of London- where you are taught to be gay, or at least pass convincingly. Sh!t Theatre formed as part of a successful vag-block exercise.
When did you know that you wanted a career in the arts?
There’s not enough room to dig into the childhood trauma that led to the desperate need for approval from strangers, but always.
What keeps you inspired?
The Muppets and also something very inspiring, Sigourney Weaver is about to do her West End debut at the age of 75 and we for one will be there to support her. Good on you Sigourney!
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
We give them a goody bag to take away which we hope they enjoy. Contents include free booze, badges, garlic. The usual.
Where can audiences see the show?
There are a few tickets left for Muppets at Camden People’s Theatre! We will then be back at Soho Theatre in Feb-March 2025 with a completely unreleased show.
Sing-A-Long A Muppet Christmas Carol and Sh!t Actually are on at the Camden People’s Theatre, London until 21st December. For tickets and more information, visit: https://cptheatre.co.uk/
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