Review of Thursford Christmas Spectacular: Festive variety show exceeded my expectations and received standing ovation

Thursford Christmas Spectacular which has been wowing crowds for decades kickstarted its 47th year last week with its first audience of the festive season.

The variety show which is full of festivities is known as one of the biggest shows of its kind in Europe, playing to sold-out audiences who travel from far away each year.

Having never experienced the Christmas Spectacular show, and having only been to see the Light Trail and the Fantasy Land at Thursford many years ago, I jumped at the chance to return to watch the popular three-hour performance. I brought along my parents and my sister - all three of them have seen the show in previous years.

Being a big lover of all things Christmas, the moment I walked through the entrance, it felt like walking around a magical winter wonderland – I was in my element.

We had a quick walk around the Fantasy Land which was turned into a magical trail to Santa’s Grotto with some of the historic steam engines among the festive displays.

Then the time came for what I was looking forward to the most – the show itself, which I had very high expectations for after hearing people talk so highly of it.

Throughout the almost three-hour show, we experienced singing, comedy, dancing, speciality acts, and festive fun.

Comedian Lloyd Hollett, who hosted Thursford, had the audience laughing out loud and made it through a number of impressive tales including a story of Oliver Twist using words backwards and another using only confectionery names.

The jam-packed show made it very hard for me to choose my highlights, as every single act did not disappoint.

But I can say that it exceeded my expectations with the amount of detail and hard work that went into the production – this was evident in the show itself as well as all the decor inside the auditorium.

I was impressed with how the lights around the auditorium became part of the show, flashing, going dim and bright to fit in with the acts.

I found the choir singing among the crowds was a nice touch as well as the bagpipes that I really liked, with a beautiful array of voices and instruments taking on a variety of tunes including Christmas carols and classical pieces.

The 32-piece orchestra, larger than any West End theatre show, really added a little extra to every act on the stage and was very impressive.

The dancers were perfectly in time and it was clear that a lot of rehearsing and dedication had gone into their performance, with a variety of styles throughout the afternoon. I particularly loved the Irish dance number with the noise of their feet tapping all together on the stage floor.

To draw the show to a close, white doves were released over the audience which was a lovely finishing touch to the end of an extraordinary production to kickstart the festive season - followed by a standing ovation.

I would 100% recommend this show and experience to anyone who is thinking about going as it truly is magical and I definitely think you get your money's worth.

The show is most definitely called ‘spectacular’ for a reason.

Thursford also offers food, drink and shops.

At the site, there is also the Enchanted Journey of Light trail, where guests can expect to find pretty, colourful and magical displays.

Thursford Christmas Spectacular will run until December 23, with 2pm and 7pm performances.

Ticket prices start at £47 and can be purchased in addition to Santa’s Christmas Journey and the Enchanted Journey of Light trail at www.thursford.com or via the box office on 01328 878477.

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