Q20's Signing Santa at MetroCentre is featured in the Daily Mail Online and the Mirror

This year intu MetroCentre asked Q20 to supply a Signing Santa and Signing Miss Santa for two special Sundays - where children with hearing difficulties would be able to tell Santa what was on their Christmas wish list ... in sign language!

The first date (22nd Nov) was really successful and we are certain the second Sunday (27th Nov) will go just as well - however, we didn't expect the great reaction that has been occurring online!

The original video, uploaded onto intu MetroCentre's Facebook page by mum, Hayley Cairns, has already has over 100,000 views, and now the story has made it into two national newspapers' online content - including this article by the Daily Mail and this one by the Mirror. The article has also been featured on Chronicle Live.

It's very gratifying to see that your work has been appreciated by such a large number of people - we're very proud of our two performers and we look forward to many more Signing Santa events in the future!

Christmas is underway!

The lights have been switched on, the decorations have gone up - that's right, we're in the countdown to Christmas! And already it's been an amazing few weeks.

Our Toy Soldiers have been up and down the country, providing fun performances and supplying customer service assistance - everything from providing useful information for those visiting shopping centres, to carrying heavy shopping for weighed-down customers. Keep an eye out at intu Victoria Centre, Nottingham this weekend for the Soldiers, and also Gateshead MetroCentre this Saturday as part of Black Friday.

You'll also see the Toy Soldiers aboard the East Lancashire Railway Santa trains, starting this week. Along with our helpful Elves, they'll be providing lots of fun and magic for the visitors this winter - with a special appearance by Santa!

Speaking of Santa, one of our favourite events this season has been the special Signing Santa appearances at intu MetroCentre. The two special Sundays (22nd and 29th Nov) bring Santa to meet children with hearing difficulties, so they can tell him what they'd like for Christmas ... in sign language! The event has proved hugely popular and we hope our Signing Santa will make many more appearances next year!

Be sure to follow us on Twitter for updates on all the magical things we've been up to this Christmas!

Master Class Workshops - Get Your Tickets Now!

Our Master Class series continues!

So far we've had some absolutely brilliant workshops for the Hula Hoop and Improvisation classes (sadly our Clowning class had to be cancelled at the last minute, however we hope to be able to provide a replacement workshop in the future) - with more on the way!

Yesterday, Q20's John Lambert and Circus Skills workshop-leader Richard Gillett were invited to BCB Radio 106.6FM to let people know about the workshops and the great opportunities to learn a new skill or try out a brand new hobby. If you missed it, you can listen to the radio show for all the information here.

After that we've got Stage Fighting with Ian Stapleton (who also did a brilliant day of stage fighting workshops for our Half Term Theatre School), Cabaret with Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights' Janice Connolly (aka Barbara Nice) and a Costume Making workshop with the amazing artist team, Burnett & Catt.

These workshops are not to be missed, so make sure you get your tickets now and we'll see you there!

Urgent Appeal: Save Shipley's Santa Show!

For the last six years, Q20 Theatre has been proud to bring a spectacular Santa and Sleigh show to the streets of Shipley, the home of Q20 Theatre and also many of its employees and performers.

Sadly, due to council budget cuts this year's show is in jeopardy - funds have fallen short by around £5000 of the total costs.

Q20 has put together an appeal in the hope that local private businesses will sponsor the event - an appeal which was also published today in local newspaper the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.

You can read the full article here, and we're very grateful to anyone who is able to share and promote our appeal to save the Shipley Santa show!