Christmas Concert

48 students and 4 former students of the Mitchell School of Drama took to the floor of the Acorn Centre to deliver a delightful mix of Christmas songs, carols, poems, monologues and sketches. Both acts opened with a medley by former students Jordan Abberley-Nicoll (Act 1) and Scott Armstrong (Act 2) and included numbers such as “We Need A Little Christmas”, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” and “Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian Christmas Song)”.  The sketches told the story of the Birth of Jesus with a modern and humorous twist. Starting with the pregnant Mary (Olivia Watt) and Joseph (Euan Banks) attending a meeting with a relationship counsellor (Emily Walker) as Mary tries to convince Joseph of the immaculate conception. Then in “Waiting Up” Melchior (Josh Simpson) tries to explain to his furious wife (Imogen Watt) that he is late home because he and his two pals Caspar and Balthazar have been looking at a star and have decided to follow it – she was not impressed! “Analysis” told how the angels appeared to three Doric shepherds (Eleanor Harper, Alex Kelman, Mikey Nicoll) as they were interviewed for a TV report with so called experts adding their opinion. Then a beautifully delivered monologue by Rosalind Watt as the Innkeeper’s Wife telling the story of the birth of the babe in the stable. “Three Wise Dudes” told of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar (Josh Simpson, Ben McWilliam and Benjamin Gibbs) as they search for the infant King and those they met along the way – Passer-by, Prime Minister, Receptionist, Matron, Girl and Helper at a shelter for the homeless. “In the Stable” showed Mary, Joseph and the Baby in the stable being photographed for a celebrity magazine – showing how the birth would be treated today! There were also three wonderful sketches by the Musical Theatre class “In the Corridor”, “Choir Practice 1” and “Choir Practice 2” where a group of rebellious children decide to put their own versions of two well-known carols “The Angel Gabriel” and “In The Bleak Midwinter” into the school concert much to the frustration of their music master (played by Andrew Saunders) – his attempts at hip-hop were hilarious. Among the other highlights for me was a wonderful solo by the super, strong-voiced Carys Taylor and the solo by classical pianist Sienna Lee. The evening was rounded off with the full cast on stage for a heart wrenching version of “White Christmas”. Well done – each and every one of you was a Christmas star!