Nativity the Musical

NATIVITY THE MUSICAL a musical performed by SONG, at The Atkinson Theatre, Lord Street, Southport ... on Saturday, 11th November 2023.

When I was told last year that my good friends from ‘SONG’ were staging my favourite Christmas Movie ever… “NATIVITY” I couldn’t wait!  I have the video, I have the two sequels… ‘Danger in the Manger’ and ‘Dude, where’s my Donkey’ …  just love Mr Poppy and the kids from St Bernadettes!  Was the wait worth it … from the ‘full house’ standing ovation that greeted the finale to the applause, laughter, and cheers throughout… I would say it was! 

Nativity the Musical is adapted from a book penned by Debbie Isitt, with music/lyrics by Debbie Isitt and Nicky Ager. Based on Isitt’s 2009 film of the same name, the stage musical premiered in Birmingham in 2017. It tells the tale of three best friends who grow up together at The Midlands Academy and their individual journey’s when they leave!  The narrative then centres around two of the three friends, now teachers at two local Primary Schools in Coventry… one ‘posh’ - Oakmoor Academy’… one ‘poor’ - ‘St Bernadettes’ and the arrival of Classroom Assistant Mr Poppy!  We then witness the antics they get up to, the rivalries created and then a ‘little white lie’ that gets blown out of all proportion … and finally the arrival of ‘Hollywood’ to Coventry and the return of the third friend!  

The Production Team… the ever so talented John Coates (Director), Zoe Findlay (Choreographer) Holly Partington (Assistant Director + Dance Captain) and Chris Rimmer (Musical Director) where the people chosen
to lead this production and what a great job they made!  What this musical provides, which doesn’t happen very often… is that every cast member had a character name… not only did they have a character name, I ‘think’ (not 100% sure) but I think that every young person had an opportunity to either speak/sing/dance solo… if it wasn’t everyone, it certainly was the majority! There were so many mature performances from these young people which belied their years!  They were well rehearsed, the comic timing was superb, the dance routines were simple yet effective and played to the individual strengths … the orchestration supported the singers ever so well and from the smiles on these young faces from ‘start to finish’ left you in no doubt that these SONGIES were having the times of their lives… John, Zoe, Holly and Chris, be very proud of what you helped achieve… great production!

The Cast… well here we go… ‘sticky neck out time’!  As most will know, I’m not one for sitting on the fence… so can I please identify MY ‘showstealer’ and MY favourite characters!  As I always say… these are MY choices, ask anyone present that evening and they may well come up with others but these are mine… “Showstealer” … ‘what can one say about Mr Poppy or even more to the point, what can you not say about him!’  I think, for this show to ‘work’ requires a very strong ‘Mr Poppy’ and in Joe Bigley we had that and more!  His command of the stage was excellent, his comic timing was ‘off the charts’, Joe had this natural ability to show empathy when he spoke to or about the children in his class at St Bernadettes and as far as I was concerned, he was the glue that held this show together!  The chemistry with the audience, the cast and especially Mr Maddens was amazing … a joy to watch, be ever so proud Joseph… great job sir!   ‘Mr Maddens’… one, of the original three friends …  now a primary school teacher at St Bernadettes was played ever so well by Harry Corcoran. I’m honestly running out of things to say about Harry, but I do think that this is one of the best roles I’ve seen him play and if it hadn’t been for the outstanding performance given by Joe, Harry could well have been my ‘showstealer’ yet again!  Harry was able to show us both sides of this character brilliantly!  We had the charming side when Jennifer was around and the disillusioned side whilst working in a failing school and the frustration at being asked to direct the nativity!  Great character created, great stage presence, worked ever so well with every member of the cast… again be ever so proud Harry, another great job sir!  Orlando Campolucci-Bordi took on the role of ‘Gordon Shakespeare’ another of the three amigos! Orlando is another who I’ve seen in many roles over the past couple of years and again he created another impressive character!   I suppose you could suggest that the character of ‘Gordon’ is similar to that of a panto villain, and Orlando did get a few boos along the way, although I did feel the audience felt a bit reluctant to boo him, but he definitely earned it!  Loved the characterisation… loved the ‘eyes’ when he took to the stage as ‘Herod’… they had a ‘crazy glazed’ appearance… he was obviously aiming for another ‘5 Star Review’ … loved the rendition of ‘The Rock Opera’.   Well done Orlando … be proud!  The final member of the three amigo’s was Kai-enna Mook who took on the role of ‘Jennifer Lore’, the ‘love interest’ of Mr Madden who, breaks up with him one Christmas and then fly’s out to LA to take up an internship at a film studio.  Kai-enna has a ‘massive singing voice’ which she used ever so well throughout… the reunion at the end with Mr Madden at the Nativity was ‘heartfelt’… well done Kai-enna!  Grace Cunningham did a great job with ‘Mrs Bevan’, Head Teacher at St Bernadettes, Elesha Nolan played ‘Lucy Rye’, Jack Smith played the ‘Lord Mayor’, Ewan Harris made a great ‘Patrick Burns’, Milly Johnson played ‘Ms Parker’, Grace Curry did a good job playing the ‘Priest Ciara Wilson’, and Michael Stoprya played ‘Jimmy Smith’.    The Ensemble… wow, they gave us everything they had from start to finish…drilled to perfection… so many smiling faces, it was obvious that everyone was having the time of their young lives… (not enough space to include character names) …  Kids from St Bernadettes … Evieanne Allen, Ben Gregory, Isaac Shea, Lucy Brookfield, Olivia Halsall, Sienna Agrimi, Lola Birtles, Alice Madigan, Emma & Charlotte Forshaw, Serafina Campolucci-Bordi, Isabelle Culshaw, Megan Lawson, Lucy Scott, Scarlett Mullen.  Kids from Oakmoor…  Amaya Spencer, Jess Jackson, Holly Partington, Amelia Rose Smith, Anna Gregory, Ofelia Crompton, Fleur Grace Wigmore, Felicity Pendleton, Ellie Mae Davies, Kate Hitchmough, Katelyn Brant, Jasmine Mullen, Gabriella Agrimi. Last but not least… who could forget the ‘amazing’ ‘CRACKER’ aka ‘Teddy’… the most relaxed canine ever… so many ooh’s and aah’s throughout the production… BE EVER SO PROUD ONE AND ALL!

Band… situated on stage to the rear of the set… lead by Christopher Rimmer (MD and Keys 3); Paul Nicholls (Keys 1); Dan Rankin (Keys 2/Guitar); Adam Dutch (Bass), Paul Dutch (Drums/Percussion); Sarah Dutch (Reed) and Cliff Ray (Trumpet).

Staging/Set/Tech… a relatively basic staging/set was used throughout which was enhanced using images projected to a large screen situated above the stage which showed events and locations which worked very well. In charge of all thing’s ‘backstage’ was the experienced Radley Haynes (Stage Manager) with Francesca Bates (DSM).  John Coates was responsible for the Set Design and video graphics with Jamie Moran (Lighting Design) and Matt Hughes (Sound Design).    Costumes were fabulous and enhanced the show ever so much…  Karen Fairclough (The Costume Store).      Props… were apt and used well … under the watchful eye of Zara Newton, Hilary Thomson, Libby Stevens and Emily Blinkhorn.

Safeguarding Team/Chaperones… whenever or wherever young people are involved in theatre the need for a safe caring environment is essential and that safety was provided by SONG’s Safeguarding Team led by Guy Wigmore (Safeguarding Officer) and his team of amazing Chaperones… Linda Davies, Lynn Wigmore, Salina Birtles, Heather Culshaw, Pamela Scott, Catherine Brookfield and Katherine Smith… well done folks, youth theatre can’t happen without people like you!

Joyce Court … in their programme SONG pay tribute to Joyce, a former dedicated committee member who sadly passed away earlier this year.  Can I on behalf of NODA and myself, pay our respectful wishes to Joyce’s family and to SONG … RIP Joyce, you will be missed, your legacy will ‘Sparkle and Shine’ forever!

Once again, can I take this opportunity to thank the Committee and Members of SONG for inviting my wife and I to the production and for rearranging the day when I found I was unable to attend on the VIP Evening.  Thanks also to Linda Davies for looking after us throughout and for inviting me to speak and have my photograph taken with the cast after the show!  Susan and I are already looking forward to ‘Les Mis’… congrats on another amazing production … be proud all those who made this happen!

Stay Safe, Keep well
“Stronger Together”
Jim Briscoe
District 6 Rep  
NODA North West 

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