Taking the mickey

But in the Lowry’s Christmas production, the squeaky hero is indeed abroad and he has got a very important question on his mind — do mice celebrate Christmas?

It’s an odd question, but exactly the sort of thing that could preoccupy young minds during the festive period.

So when Eddie the mouse starts to ask why only humans can take part in the festivities and — more importantly — get presents, he sets out in search of Father Christmas to ask him.

Jackie Knowles, the Lostock actress who plays Eddie, describes rehearsals as “delightfully exhausting”.

The former Bolton School pupil said: “I’ve just graduated from theatre school in London so it’s my first job since graduating and I really wanted to be involved in some Christmas entertainment and fun.

“It’s a lovely thing to be involved in. And we’re in a little Northern cocoon in London, everyone’s having a great time doing it and it’s a lot of fun.”

Jackie is one of two Bolton actors in the production. The other is Lane Paul Stewart, from Westhoughton, who plays Dymotrom, the robot who comes to life to help Eddie in his quest.

Lane says: “He’s like a Buzz Lightyear-esque hero out to change the world, but who’s been left on the shelf from the Christmas before.”

Both actors are enthusiastic about how magical the play feels, and how they hope it will appeal to a young audience.

“It’s got a really magical, festive feel,” says Lane, who was a pupil at Canon Slade. “We’re hoping that we can get the children to watch wide eyed, get the feeling that it’s something really special.

“The set is like a giant story book and as each page turns over it’s a different scene, so it’s quite magical in that respect as well because that’s something like most children will never have seen before. There’s also a ginormous cat that scares Eddie, which is a huge puppet.

“It’s a really entertaining thing for kids to lose themselves in, in the Christmas festivities.”

• The Night Before Christmas runs at the Lowry from December 27 to January 4.