After my inaugural visit to the Thursford Christmas Spectacular last year, I didn’t think it was possible for the annual festive extravaganza to get any more sparkling. Well dear reader, it has. 2024 is bigger, brighter and more dazzling than before. Once again, the Steam Museum has been transformed into a 1400-capacity auditorium-meets-wintry wonderland – everywhere you look there are garlands and trees, with carousel horses suspended from the ceiling, and the steam engines and fairground rides decked out in hundreds, nay, thousands of twinkling fairy lights. The 130-foot stage spans the entirety of one side of the building, again beautifully illuminated (the lighting and sound design is West End spec).  

Two bagpipers herald the start of the show, their notes swirling around the huge space as they walk up and down the aisles before we’re told to ‘sit back, uncross our arms and enjoy the show’ and that ‘laughter and rapturous applause are positively encouraged.’ No encouragement needed. For the following three hours, we sit in joyous wonder as the show-stopping talent from the cast of 120 performers unfurls. 

The choir and singers are pitch-perfect, one minute performing candlelit renditions of traditional carols and songs (We Three Kings and Ave Maria are spine-tinglingly good), the next they’re belting out big band numbers and even a little gospel. A highlight is the male acapella group, who not only sing beautifully but bring a little comedy to their performance. The 32-piece orchestra, larger than any West End show, is fabulous. And I must, of course, mention the prodigiously talented Phil Kelsall, whose fingers fly across the keys of the famous Wurlitzer Organ during his Dizzy Fingers, Happy Feet performance (close-ups are provided via giant screens lowered over the stage).

The show seamlessly rolls from one act to the next, whether you’re watching the Togni brothers perform acrobatics so daring they elicit a sharp intake of breath or impossibly cute life-size penguins dancing in the aisles. There are mind-bending contortionists from Ukraine and an Irish tap dance routine performed by the dancers, whose synchronicity throughout the show is on-point. Not to mention the stunt bike riders who perform their daredevil feats on stage to the sound of the electric guitar and bagpipes (a mix that shouldn’t work but does). Compere/comedian Lloyd Hollett, aka The Comedy Wordsmith, brings the laughs, especially with his tongue-twisting wordplay. At one point he tells the story of British sitcom, mentioning 87 of them in a quick-witted routine that is astonishing. 

I love the attention to detail. The costumes are meticulous (a favourite of mine are the neon frou-frou dresses worn by the dancers for the An American in Paris Can Can) and the musical arrangements stunning, which director and producer John Cushing OBE – who has worked on every show for the past 47 years – starts planning in January. It’s certainly come a long way since he organised a one-off carol concert in an old farm shed in 1977, for a crowd of 500 (read John’s guide to North Norfolk here). Now, approximately 120,000 people arrive every year to see the Spectacular. When I visit there are coaches from Cambridge, East Sussex and Lancashire to see this ‘tardis of talent’ as Hollett so accurately refers to it. There may be 97 performances this season but the Christmas Spectacular feels fresher than ever. It’s fast-paced and so full of energy that the show (which includes an interval, where mulled wine and mince pies are the order of the day) whizzes by. As the finale draws to a close, the audience is on its feet. This really is a spectacle like no other. 

For extra dazzle, you can add on The Enchanted Journey of Light, an indoor/outdoor illuminated festive trail. Start in the Fantasy Land building, where cuddly animatronic polar bears, penguins and teddy bears star in a series of snowclad adventures, culminating with a peek inside Santa’s bustling toy factory. You can, of course, book a visit to the big man in his grotto. Follow the path outside and you’re met with otherworldly scenes of illuminated life-size sculptures. You’ll see magnificent beasts from the wilds of Africa, a mystical underwater kingdom and the glacial North Pole, all accompanied by a dramatic soundscape. Think of it as Alice in Wonderland-meets-Tim Burton-meets-Lion King… Thursford is most definitely a cracker. 

Thursford Christmas Spectacular runs until 23 December, with performances at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets cost from £43. To book and for more information, visit www.thursford.com or call 01328 878477

Images supplied by Thursford

If you like this… read our interview with Thursford’s John Cushing here