Santa skypes Mr Boon to say that the reindeer have been stolen and he needs them back by Christmas Eve at the latest. Mr Boon (played by Mike Boon) has to do some quick sleuthing, track down the reindeer and return them to Santa, who is too busy with the presents to do it himself.

Mr Boon doubts whether an ordinary children’s entertainer like himself is up to the task, but when Santa impresses upon him that the fate of Christmas rests on his shoulders, Mr Boon bravely rises to the occasion. He’s also helped out by the god-like voice of the hidden narrator / stage manager, who booms out orders and reprimands when things are getting off track.

With help from a fortune teller and a timeline fairy (Rhys Matthewson)* – who gives him a remote control that allows Mr Boon to rewind, pause and fast-forward the story if things are moving too slowly, etc – Mr Boon manages to track down the location of the reindeer and figure out a plan to rescue them from Farmer Palmer the llama farmer (also played by Matthewson).

A quirky Christmas song written by Mr Boon, and a visit from a bitter old man called Geezer (Matthewson) – who wants to learn to experience the joy of Christmas again – provide opportunities to demonstrate the transformative powers of sharing the Christmas spirit and also an excuse to flesh out the storyline a bit. 

The play is deliberately haphazard and disorganised, with constant funny asides to the audience about whether the plot is working out and whether he should have done certain scenes differently. The kids get to vote a couple of times on the direction of the story (or at any rate are given the illusion that they have some influence) and he calls up volunteers to help him with the final rescue mission.

My 8-year-old son said on leaving the theatre: “I think that might be the best play I’ve ever seen. It was so funny!” Indeed it had me frequently laughing out loud, with heaps of silly humour that the kids loved, and some very dry, very kiwi humour that went over their heads and hit the mums and dads square between the eyes.

Mike Boon is an unpretentiously talented comedian, and it’s an added treat to have this year’s Billy T Award winner, Rhys Matthewson, playing the supporting characters.

*Note: After the opening weekend Mr Boon’s offsider will be played by Jamie Bowen.
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