While many theatres will be reverberating to collective shouts of “he’s behind you” and “oh no it isn’t” this Christmas, artsdepot’s young audiences will be, hopefully, sitting in silence, captivated by a magical, festive tale.

Catching Father Christmas tells the story of Amy (played by Catriona Mackenzie), a young girl who loves Christmas so much, she decides she just has to meet Santa, as artistic director Amelia Bird explains.

“She gets over-enthusiastic and decides the best way to meet him is to catch him in a trap,” says Amelia. “But she accidentally catches an elf who drops a magic star, and everything comes to life.

“The Christmas tree comes to life, the crackers turn into little monsters. She realises she has to get everything back to normal and get to bed before Father Christmas arrives.”

The play combines actors and puppetry, although not just traditional puppets. For instance, a snowman is played by a duvet, while the Christmas crackers are, well, crackers.

The play is being staged by Cambridge theatre company Gomito Productions, which next year celebrates its tenth anniversary. It was started by four 18-year-olds who had finished their A levels and wanted the opportunity to put on shows together.

“We write all our shows through a devising process,” says Amelia. “From an original idea we then play with puppets and work on the story. It’s a complete Gomito production.”

For this production the group has been inspired by films such as The Snowman and The Muppet Christmas Carol – not for them the raucous theatre of a pantomime.

“We wanted to do something that was very magical and Christmassy – a lot of pantos aren’t very Christmassy.”

Catching Father Christmas is at artsdepot, North Finchley, until Sunday, January 2. Details: 020 8369 5454, www.artsdepot.co.uk