The Colchester Arts Centre has always been at the heart of the ‘alternative’ cultural scene in the town and at Christmas why would that be any different.

So it’s no surprise really that following two very successful seasonal shows, the venue is bringing another holiday treat back to the former Victorian church.

This time it’s a retelling of the Peter and the Wolf story, which creator Matt Borgatti tells me is about as far from the well known Prokofiev version than you can get.

“Like the classical tale, it’s also heavily influenced by music,” he assures. “That’s where the idea came from because we wanted the music, like in our other shows, to be a large part of the storytelling.

“It is radically different but there are hints of the original. It’s a totally new story with a totally new score.”

In Goblin Theatre’s Peter and the Wolf, Peter is on a camping holiday with his Grandfather when he decides to go off site looking for adventure. That’s when he discovers the Wolf, who actually turns out to be not as big and bad as one might think a wolf might be.

“The music is key to Peter and the Wolf,” Matt continues, “and so we’ve made sure that has stayed the same with one of our actors playing lots of different musical sounds to represent each animal Peter meets on his adventure.”

And taking a leaf out of Ed Sheeran’s style of performing, it’s all done through a loop pedal.

Matt adds: “We have 15 in all which our actor musician layers over each one to create the soundtrack to our show.”

Matt founded Goblin Theatre back in 2013 and the very first children’s production he did was after meeting up with a group of jazz musician friends.

“That’s been our style ever since,” he explains. “I was working as a theatre manager at the time and we had a lot of children’s theatre come through our doors. Some of it was really good, some of it was ok but I had an idea for a show myself and that’s when I thought I would quite like to have a go at this myself.”

Having studied drama and theatre arts at Birmingham University, Matt started in theatre press and marketing before moving into management.

“I would say that gave me a huge foundation of knowledge to start my own company,” he says. “With Children’s Theatre, I sometimes think the marketing of a show is just as key as the devising itself.”

But it’s the devising he really loves.

Peter and the Wolf is the company’s eighth show following their very first, the Ballad of Rudy.

“We were fortunate that the first one did quite well,” he continues. “It ran for three years and ended up as the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre’s Christmas show in their studio.”

And even before getting to Colchester, Peter and the Wolf has racked up some miles and plaudits along the way including stints at the Latitude and Shambala festivals this year as well as a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Matt says: “We do different things for each show. Sometimes I write it and then get a team in but with Peter and the Wolf we devised it right from the start with a team of people that included a designer, two musicians and a puppeteer.

“Basically that meant sitting in a room for a week and just throwing lots of ideas into the hat to see which ones we liked. A couple of months down the line we were in a rehearsal room putting the show together. It’s a really lovely way of working and we’re very pleased with how Peter and Wolf has turned out.

“As well as our run in Edinburgh we got to appear as part of the National Theatre’s Riverside Festival this year, which was pretty special for us.

“It’s one of the biggest runs we’ve ever done and now we’re coming to Colchester for Christmas, which is a real treat.

“We’ve been here a couple of times before for the regular Saturday children’s theatre slot and every time it’s been a joy.

“What I really like about the Colchester Arts Centre is the provision of a relaxed performance, which is one of the things we’re very passionate about at Goblin. Not many venues offer it and I think it’s really well done at Colchester. They’ve built up a good audience for that kind of thing, which shows their dedication to providing access to all.

“For our Christmas Peter and the Wolf much of the original production will remain the same but we have added a few festive touches to the show to make it that extra bit special.”

Peter and the Wolf runs at the Colchester Arts Centre in Church Street from Sunday December 17, to New Year’s Eve.

Doors open at 10.30am and 1.30pm with the shows starting half an hour later.

All tickets are priced £5.95, available on-line at www.colchesterartscentre.com or by calling the box office on 01206 500900.