Please sir, can I have the night off?

Nadia and Abed might just be the next big thing. They’ve started the North’s greatest band ‘Santa Must Die!’ and for one night only they’re playing their local. But it’s Christmas eve… and Santa is a bad boss.

Unending queues of demanding, entitled customers, minimum wage, no time off, unpaid overtime, zero hours contract. It’s about time the elves staged a riot.

Santa Must Die! is a raucous new gig theatre show for the gig economy at the most difficult time of the year! A different kind of Christmas story about it being really sh*t when Xmas is all work and no play, about finding joy in unexpected places, and fighting against that which is meant to keep you down.

Made in conversation with people who have experience of working on zero hours contracts at Christmas time.

archipelago is a theatre collective led by Beth Knight, Kirsty Pennycook and Sean Ryan that makes live, daring, and generous work that brings people together. Made with communities, for communities.

This event was supported with a Culture Grant by Wakefield Council