THIS December, Hijinx Odyssey is thrilling audiences with a Christmas classic, The Silent Toy Soldier, at the Wales Millennium Centre.

Following the success of last year’s The Spirit of Christmas, The Silent Toy Soldier is a wonderful festive treat for the whole family and follows the Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy and other much loved festive characters as they journey to find a place that everyone can call home.

Hijinx Odyssey is an inclusive community group for adults who share a passion for performance, as well as the amateur arm of Welsh theatre company Hijinx. The magic of Odyssey, and what makes it a rare find, is that it brings together people with and without disabilities from very different backgrounds to explore, play, and journey together into the world of make believe.

This year Odyssey is joined on stage by pupils from Ely-based special school, Woodlands High, with Tchaikovsky’s iconic music re-imagined by talented music students from the University of South Wales, Caerleon.

Adapted from E T A Hoffmann’s classic The Nutcracker and the Mouse King this show will take audiences on a journey to a land that should be full of magic and festive cheer, where joy and song should fill the air, but where something dark is stirring at the edges. As the threat draws closer, toys have been disappearing. How can you feel safe when you don’t have a voice?

This production is made possible by revenue funding from Arts Council Wales, the support of Cardiff Council’s Cultural Projects Scheme and by the members of the group who have come together over the past year to fundraise towards putting on a Christmas production in the Weston Studio at the Wales Millennium Centre.

The Silent Toy Soldier is at the Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre on December 3 and 4 at 7pm, and December 5 at 3pm and 7pm.

Tickets cost £8 for adults and £6 for under-16s and are available to book in person from the Wales Millennium Centre ticket office, calling the box office 029 20 636464, or online at wmc.org.uk.