Nativity! The Musical

Nativity! The Musical, the stage version of the classic Christmas film, has become a staple for amateur societies to produce.

Claire Adams and Claudia O’Connell were clearly keen to keep the pace fast, which is essential for this production.

Trevor Hughes was the musical director, and the band was tight and well-rehearsed. The balance of sound between the band and the actors was very good.

Choreography by Freya Burnett and Katie Milward was simple but effective, which was necessary with so many children on stage! I particularly enjoyed Sparkle and Shine.

Mr. Poppy has now become an iconic role, and he was played by Tobin Saunders. He was energetic and displayed a childlike enthusiasm. He was very likeable, and the children in the audience loved him.

Paul Maddens and Jennifer Lore were played by Craig Maddox and Megan Quinn. Craig gave Paul a very realistic characterisation, contrasting nicely with the energetic Mr. Poppy, and he had a lovely voice. Megan has a beautiful voice and came across well. Cracker was played by Gertie, who appeared in only one scene it was a shame Gertie wasn’t used more.

James Moore played Gordon Shakespeare, portraying him as a character who disliked children, at times almost like a pantomime villain.

Alison Hancock played the critic Patricia Burns—very cutting—and I enjoyed the change in character when she sang “Uranus” as part of Sparkle and Shine.

There were 31 children on stage, which is a large group, and they were used to great effect. There was a clear differentiation between the two schools. St. Bernadette’s were costumed well, and I liked that they weren’t perfect, some T-shirts untucked, a few collars up—it was believable. Oakmoor came across as a stricter school; however, there were some inconsistencies in their uniform. For example, a few girls had their socks rolled down, and all the girls wore different shoes. In a private school of this calibre, uniforms would have been consistent. Max Giggle was excellent as Olly great rap! Also, I must give a special mention to Sadie Vye as Katelyn, who was in the air for the last 15 minutes of the show she also had a good voice.

I completely understand why the set was reasonably minimalist. This is a show with over 50 scenes and multiple locations, so it needs to be fast paced. Flying the star on a moon was a very creative and novel moment in Sparkle and Shine.

Lighting was effective and kept the pace moving, and there were no sound issues despite several microphones being used—no mean feat!

This is always a fun show, and Bancroft did a great job. It’s fantastic that they were sold out! Thank you, as always, to the Front of House team for their hospitality.

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