I love the way Youltide starts. It’s the classic Christmas TV show setting; you’ve got the smiling narrator dressed in claw-hammer coat and bow tie, and he’s sitting beside a big sparkly Christmas tree in a room positively crawling with Christmas-themed decorations. Where’s this going? – your reviewer wonders. This is a 6 Degrees show,* and 6 Degrees shows don’t do schmaltz; they’re more into edgy, innovative, original.

While I’m still wondering, the narrator (Noah Kaio as Douglas) starts his spiel, and he’s got a story to tell us about You (Pan Clark), who lives on her own in a small town. It’s Christmas time and here’s You waiting for something to happen, then her friend Gabe (Ryan Cleland) comes visiting with a lasagne.

You and Gabe do some old friends banter, which is all pretty ho-hum but off notes keep slipping in. You has this memory of being cold and aching in her bones, and one of the friends talks about depression. Upon which Douglas (spoiler alert) stops the action and does a reset, after which You and Gabe go back to the beginning of the scene and start again, only with different premises this time.

It’s a great plot twist which takes us into some intriguing and ingenious territory. Who, or what, is narrator Douglas? What’s his investment in the story of You and Gabe? Who, or what, are they? And what’s going to happen to them? Playwright Teddy O’Neill has a gift for invention and storytelling that keeps me interested in the answers to these questions right to the end. I don’t really get the relationships – who, what, how, why? – but never mind, at the end of the show, I’m applauding as loudly as anyone and there’s a big grin on my face.

The production benefits from being exceptionally well presented. Kaio is completely credible as the suave, smooth-talking narrator, and also gets to show off his versatility – for example, when he changes both voice and expression to mark the shift from traditional to Kiwi Christmas. Both Clark and Cleland come across as a bit diffident and disconnected at the beginning, but by midway through the play, they are both inhabiting their characters convincingly. Clark shows real emotional warmth, and I love the way Cleland moves differently as his character evolves. Jamie Honey’s Santa is everything a Santa should be.

Sam Hearpes’ set is a marvel of in-your-face Christmassery, right down to the framed photo of a dog wearing something Christmas-themed – it’s details like that which make the difference. Designer Ethan Cranefield’s lighting, which plays an important part in the action, is delivered with split-second precision. Sound (Jessie McKenzie) and costume (Callie Chinery-Tompkins) also deliver well, to support the play’s mood and theme.

Director Josh Lees has done an excellent job of bringing all these elements together.

And yes, there is an uplifting Christmas message at the very end.

*The Six Degrees Festival is a staple of the Victoria University Master of Fine Arts (Creative Practices) course. It’s been running since 2018.

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