Sleep Can Wait – The Unity Theatre, Liverpool

Creators: Steph Greer, Marianna Pires and Samuel Perez Duran

Director/Creator: Elinor Randle

Christmas, although the most wonderful time of year, can also feel like the most rushed and commercialised and busy time of the year! As a parent of two small children aged 3 and 6, what a joy it was to discover ‘Sleep Can Wait,’ and take the time to sit, slow down and enjoy the awe and wonder which surrounds Christmas.

As we were welcomed into the theatre already the festive mood was set with colour sheets and pens for the excitable and young audience. This welcome was further extended when we entered the auditorium with the three strong performers, Steph Greer, Marianna Pires and Samuel Perez Duran greeting the audience with games, jokes and chatter. Through this we are instantly brought into their world, of three children on the night before Christmas.

And this is where we stay for the entire production. ‘Sleep Can Wait,’ does not follow a plot, there are no twists and turns, or dramatic events. But instead is an hour filled with fun, storytelling and finding the awe and wonder not only in Christmas but the every day, as the three children play with and explore their own toys, and read stories to one another to help them sleep.

A particular highlight is the use of physical theatre and tricks by the cast, in particular Samuel Perez Duran as he impresses us with walking on his hands, carrying ladders with one hand and balancing an array of books on his head! All of which I am certain my mini reviewers will be wanting to try at home. This was the pure joy of the production, that all these stories we could tell at home, and as a parent there was something inspiring about this. A reminder that we don’t need to be worried or stressed about creating that perfect magical Christmas with stuff and events, but actually we can find the most joy and laughter in our homes, simply playing!

The direction from Elinor Randle (director of Tmesis Theatre Company and The Unity Theatre) created very clear and precise visual sequences and also left room for play and audience interaction, which is key for any children’s theatre. This blend of storytelling and interaction kept the young audience both engaged and captivated. The effective and playful lighting by Xenia Bayer really brings the stories to life too taking us from space, to a jungle, into the snow and back home again!

The production concludes with the children finally worn out and ready to give in to sleep, and as they we do we see what their Christmas wishes are through some rather impressive puppets! Although arguably the production could have concluded here with magic and excitements of the what ifs for the big day it self, we even got a visit from the man in the red suit and one last audience interaction squoze in!

For awe and wonder and a space to play, make sure you catch this lovely show

Runs until December 23 2025