"It's like Christmas has come early!" In that joyful phrase, Craig Saunders sums up the mood of his fellow actors as Elf - The Musical heads to the Haymarket Theatre in November.

But he's not just talking about putting on a festive show six weeks before the big day itself.

It's the fact that BATS members are back in the rehearsal room, doing what they love, 18 months after the pandemic forced the cancellation of their previous production, Chicago.

"Everyone's super excited about it," says Craig. "It's been such a long period away, and I feel really lucky to be going on stage with such a talented cast and crew. And this is SUCH a fun show!"

You'll probably know Elf from the hugely popular Christmas film starring Will Ferrell as Buddy. It's the one about the young orphan who mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.

"I hadn't seen the film until about four years ago, but I absolutely loved it," says Craig.

So apart from the addition of some fantastically festive song and dance numbers, how does the musical differ from the movie?

"Buddy's a bit more childlike in the stage version, but we've tried to blend in some aspects of the Will Ferrell performance, as he's just so funny. There are also lots of extra characters and cameo roles which is keeping everyone in the cast really busy!"

Craig won't be playing Buddy at every performance. On Thursday, James Young takes on the role, while the role of the female lead, Jovie, will be played by Rhianon Mone, rather than Anna Neary who's playing the part at the other performances opposite Craig. BATS took the decision to double cast the lead roles as a Covid contingency plan, but also to give two other talented performers the opportunity to lead the show.

“It’s an honour to be given this opportunity!” says James. “After being part of BATS for nearly 10 years, it’s proven to be a mountain of fun!”

But Craig won't get a night off - instead, the Thursday performance will see him play the various roles that James plays on the other nights. So, a double challenge for both actors!

“It has meant that rehearsals have been full on and really kept me on my toes!”, says James. “It’s been a massive learning opportunity, and I think I have really shown myself just how much I am capable of.”

“It is a lot of work,” admits Craig. "But I am looking forward to it - it means I get to do exactly the same show, but from a different point of view. I'm most worried I'm going to spoil a scene by singing one of Buddy's lines by mistake!"

"But it's great that others are getting the chance to play the lead roles. We are one team - and that's been the mentality all the way through rehearsals. And we all agree we can't wait for that first night buzz from the audience!"

You can see Craig and James as Buddy in Elf - The Musical at the Haymarket from 9-13 November. Buy tickets online.