"It was a strange thing, somebody suggested we did a Christmas show as a joke - at least I think it was a joke," says Orlando Gough, composer and director for this multi-cultural choir.

"I thought, 'Actually why not?' It's such an odd thing for us to even think about doing but it turned out to be quite an inspired idea."

The Shout was formed in 1998 by Orlando and fellow composer Richard Chew and is comprised of a 15-strong a cappella choir whose voices span musical traditions such as jazz, cabaret, gospel, classical, opera, Indian and folk music.

Previous works include The Shouting Fence, a rather topical piece based on the experiences of the people of Rafah in the Gaza Strip performed in an old gasworks in Amsterdam, and Tall Stories, a musical dramatisation of the experience of early 20th-Century immigrants in New York.

This diversion to create a festive show to sit alongside your usual carol concert and panto may therefore seem a touch surprising, until you look closer and realise this is no ordinary holly-ridden affair.

The basic premise is to weave a range of Christmas-related songs in with monologues of famous diary entries for December 25.

These tunes include Medieval carols, daft Christmas pop songs, Sinatra swing standards, vocal improvisation and surprising arrangements of familiar seasonal favourites, all delivered in a characteristically energetic, improvisatory style.

In between the vocal-chord stretching, the diary entries are delivered much like bible readings in a traditional service, only their content involves highlight poignant but random festive thoughts.

Comedy merges with the serious and there is a passage written by Sophia Litwinska, an Auschwitz prisoner, on Christmas Day 1942 (followed by a Jewish Hanukkah song), a bonkers piece about the scientific implications of flying reindeer (before a rendition of Chuck Berry's Rudolf) and a wonderful drunken tirade from restaurateur Joan Wyndham.

"I was looking for a decent structure so it wasn't just a series of songs," explains Orlando.

"I had read a few people's diary entries for Christmas Day, which were all surprising whether they were bleak (like Robert Scott stuck somewhere near the South Pole getting into terrible trouble) or very bitter (like Kenneth Williams who absolutely hated Christmas and wrote wonderful entries about what a ghastly time he was having) or they were very perky and funny.

I thought they would be a nice way to hold the whole show together.

"A Day In The Life is a mixture between the Nine Lessons In Carols and a cabaret show."

Starts 8pm, tickets cost £12/£10. Call 01273 647100.