Step Into Christmas

John Osborne brings Step Into Christmas to Norwich Theatre Playhouse on Sunday 6 December, a festive celebration of the music that makes our Christmases special. Osborne is a theatre-maker and a Radio 4 regular, and this show blends live storytelling with carefully chosen audio to explore the stories behind the songs we know and love. The range is wide: Slade, Mariah Carey and The Pogues sit alongside brass bands and Ukrainian carols.

It's not just about the tunes, though. The storytelling is the thread that holds it together, and the critics have been kind to it. Ian McMillan called his work 'gentle', and Stuart Maconie described him as 'a lovely, engaging writer finding the joyous in the everyday'. The Independent and The Scotsman have also praised it, as has Stewart Lee, writing on Osborne's Radio 4 show Don't Need the Sunshine.

On the night, the performance runs for around an hour and a half with an interval, and it's recommended for ages 12 and over. It's at the Playhouse, in John Peel's Shed, with tickets from £15.90. The show starts at 7:30 pm.