The full cast and creative team have been announced for Hey! Christmas Tree, an enchanting, funny and heart-warming festive story about the importance of finding friendship and somewhere to call home, created especially for us by Michael Morpurgo, and running at the Minerva Theatre from 7 – 29 December. Dale Rooks, whose productions include The Butterfly Lion, Running Wild and The Wind in the Willows, directs.

The cast is: Olivia Arnold (Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan) as Yulia; Callum Balmforth (RSC’s The Box of Delights, TV’s Doctors, Queen Cleopatra) as Winston; Samantha Bingley (Beauty and the Beast West End) as Susan the Snow Woman/Father Christmas; Amanda Gordon (Jerusalem West End, EastEnders) as Mavis; and Nick Howard-Brown (Hamlet Theatre Royal Windsor, TV’s D-Day: The Unheard Tapes) as Tree.

Dale Rooks says: ‘I’m thrilled to have gathered such a wonderful company for the world premiere of Michael Morpurgo and Vicki Berwick’s delightful tale, and am particularly delighted that the team includes five former Chichester Festival Youth Theatre members. Nick Howard-Brown, who plays Tree; our video designer, Dan Hill; assistant director Alice O’Hanlon; production manager Joe Jenner; and ASM Hannah Lipton, who all trace their professional careers back to their early experiences with CFYT. I’m so looking forward to working with them all again.’

Head over to the show page to read more about this lovely story and book your tickets.