"The Flint Street Nativity" by Tim Firth
Nottingham Lace Market Theatre

Written by Tim Firth, who also wrote "Calendar Girls" and "Kinky Boots", here is a festive comedy about a class of seven year olds of Flint Street School who are putting on their annual Nativity for their parents.

For anyone who have had, or have children, and have attended the school Nativity, you'll have experienced the joy of a bunch of seven year olds singing, when they can remember the correct words, and acting for their parents. In this play though all the kids are played by adults.

We see the internal squabbles, the jealous streaks, the workings of a seven year old's mind and also some insecurities that lie with some of the youngsters.

The ending see the actors then playing the parents, and also gives an incite to the background of the children's characters, showing that the apples do not often fall far from the tree. There's also a lovely little twist involving one particular character at the end.

Danielle Hall plays Jenny, who is very excited at being cast in the main Nativity role, Mary, and Jenny is adamant that everyone, especially her Joseph knows all the script, and when he doesn't she plays his parts as well. You could see in Danielle's eyes that she loved playing this role as they sparkled.

Clare Moss is the Shepherd, who is played in this play within a play by Zoe. Zoe has her own sheep (just the one) which is explained in the song that she sings.

Michelle Arscott plays Jess whose character at Flint Street is Wise Gold. Guess which gift this wise man brings?

Caitlin Bowers plays Ashley playing Gabriel:not one of the angels but THE angel!

Roisin Kelly is the Angel, which in the Nativity is played by Shamima, a character that literally lights up the play.

Jamie Goodliffe plays Marcus who in the Nativity doubles as the Star and the Ass. One of the best comic character roles in the play as he gets to say naughty words, especially in his solo carol parody. He has really got into the mindset of a seven year old with his physicality of Marcus.

Aaron Connolly also doubles up on roles playing Herod as well as Joseph is also a magical role. The Flint Street character he plays is Ryan, and again as Herod he morphs into moody seven year old, and as Joseph a completely different character.

Richard Fife plays Adrian who in the play plays Wise Frankencense. Adrian has an issue with his lisp so having to say Frankencense is just a bit of an issue with Adrian, so he changes his gift at the last minute.

James Whitby plays Bradley who gets the role of the Innkeeper in the Nativity. Now to understand Bradley you need to know that he has a bit of a thing for Jenny, but there are rumours that Jenny fancies Ryan, and as they play Mary and Joseph, deciding about the biblical pair staying at his Inn, gives Bradley the power to accept and reject. James is one actor that i knew would love this character driven seven year old, and James showed this onstage.

And last but not least playing the role of the Narrator is Joseph Smith. Joseph is new to the Lace Market Theatre but I've known Joseph for a few years now and have seen him perform in several productions, so know what a cracker of an actor he is. This role is perfect for him as he gets to dig deep into a seven year old's mind who has just realised that not everything at home is rosy while perfecting the script to please his Dad. It's quite rare though to see a seven year old with a beard and moustache.

The class teacher, Mrs Horrocks is never seen but is indicated by the stage being swathed in a red light. We never hear Mrs Horrocks but the children's reactions say everything we need to know about the teacher. Another character we don't get to see, but is mentioned several times is Peter Crouch, who does make an appearance in silhouette at the end.

Directed by David Dunford, assisted by Chris Henry, there have been some reworking of the Firth script to bring everything up to date, although I wonder how many audience members can remember the high street store "Fords".  I am sure that it was intended but no one wanted to have the French flag to wave during the Nativity, indicating a topical note over the football.

I also loved the parodies of the carols and hymns which told the stories of the children as well as the adults in an amusing and novel way. Take a careful listen to the new lyrics to understand what I mean.

I watched the original TV production from 1999 before seeing the stage version and you can really tell the amount of work that has gone into the production to make the script more relevant, and that in itself adds more mirth to the production.

The set is designed by Alison Holland and straight away shows that this is an updated version of the 1999 version by announcing that this is Flint Street School 2022 as paper flags at the back of the set. I actually felt like I was visiting an infant school.

Lighting Design is by Allan Green and Sound Design by Philip Hogarth, both areas were perfectly executed, and it didn't take long to realise that the red lighting was the teacher, Mrs Horrocks, indicating that non physical things can be highlighted by just a change of light.

The projection at the end is by Matthew Allcock.

The costumes throughout are by Max Bromley.

And we all know that a Nativity is not complete without a pianist, and doing the honours here is Emma Kerrison.

We all love a play where adults act as daft as a seven year old and this is the ideal musical festive offering. I also have a feeling that the actors had just as much fun as the audience did with this show.

Read the original article here.

Review: The Flint Street Nativity. The Lace Market Theatre. Nottingham

I expect if you really wanted to delve into it historically you could find a fair amount of plays and musicals that have been expressly or partially written with the creative idea of having adult actors play little children on stage. The perennially popular pantomime and play versions of Peter Pan are a great example. Other examples from recent stage plays are Blood Brothers, Groan Ups, My Neighbour Totoro, Blue Remembered Hills and even Daisy Pulls it Off. My own father, who knew nothing about the theatre except that the original Derby Playhouse on Sacheverel Street was near to his favourite Ladbrokes bookies, once harshly dismissed the craft of acting as merely ‘play acting’ or mucking about on stage. Playing is a big part of children growing up and learning to express themselves and to socialise. Simple plays or opportunities to sing and dance help enormously whatever the source, even if it is the school’s annual nativity play. Childhood rarely occurs, however, without any bumps and scrapes, amongst the joys and the incredible highs of possibly being cast as the first donkey or Mary in said nativity. Being cast in the school nativity can bring about latent jealousies and worse in vulnerable children unused to such volatile states of being with the added pressure to perform in front of parents and teachers. As a nine year-old I was cast as the gold-bearing King Melchior that visits the baby Jesus along with the two other ‘Wise Men’, King Frank Incense and King Murmur. I forgot to turn up on the big night and the task went to another boy called Andrew who was quickly robed in a clean eiderdown and a spiky cardboard crown that ‘allegedly’ fell over his sticky-out ears. In his eagerness to please he dropped his papier-mâché gold bars on Jesus’ head – twice and continuously farted nervous farts in the direction of a gagging boy cast as Joseph. But that is a whole other story… Over to The Flint Street Nativity written by Tim Firth and performed this week by The Lace Market Theatre.

"There’s no treachery assassination, double-dealing, deceit, coercion or blackmail that you encounter later in life that you will not have been prepared for in the classroom." Tim Firth.

Directed by David Dunford with a set designed by Alison Holland this amateur production of The Flint Street Nativity features the following cast – Mary (Danielle Hall), Shepherd (Clare Moss), Wise Gold (Michelle Arscott), Gabriel (Caitlin Bowers), Angel (Roisin Kelly), Star/Ass (Jamie Goodliffe), Joseph/Herod (Aaron Connelly), Wise Frankincense (Richard Fife), Narrator (Joseph Smith) and Innkeeper (James Whitby). Lighting is by Allan Green, the sound by Philip Hogarth and the side stage keyboards are played by Emma Kerrison.

Tim Firth’s play with music and songs has been updated in The Lace Market Theatre version, and has Nottinghamshire locations and references jigsawed into the script which works on the whole and even causes a few extra giggles in an evening of some general hilarity. The Flint Street Nativity is quite a short two-act play being less than two hours long including an interval. Yet you do leave the theatre feeling that you have got your monies worth from some committed performances and some really funny comic moments and priceless non sequiturs. As for Firth getting the balance between comedy and poignancy right is up for debate. The section with the ‘adult’ parents gathering over Post Nativity drinks in the classroom seems thinner in dramatic content and intent and a tad rushed and clichéd. Whether the play is scripted to give a silent presence to the invisible teacher Miss Horrocks by flash flooding the stage in a sudden wash of red lights I cannot say but this is how it works in this production. Once you know – you know. Initially I find it confusing and wonder if one of the naughtier Flint Street kids has snuck into the lighting box and is playing havoc with the controls. Likewise, I find the decision to allow one of the actors to play a child with a real beard somewhat anomalous. Even though their performance is good I find this facial inclusion is stretching our willingness to suspend our disbelief. A plastic baby Jesus though – that’s fine.

For an adult to become a seven-year-old on stage relies on the quality of their acting and imaginative talent to convince and both the actors and their audiences share one vital state of mind between them for the play to succeed – the previously stated – willing suspension of disbelief. We know that the performers aren’t really little kids and part of the comedy-drama fun is for them to behave and react as children already giving us glimpses into how they perceive their world and may continue to perceive the world as they grow up. Mistakes and all. The end result should be a blend of sweet innocence, fledgling confidence or over-confidence and a junior version of survival of the fittest plus pratfalls and a Christmas stocking full of healthy humour. Think “I’m Seven -Get Me Outta Here’. This Lace Market Theatre production finds its successes in the comedy and songs and has some excellent performances throughout. Director David Dunford has done an excellent job with the stage being used to full advantage and the many exits and entrances all done with tremendous pace and often comic effect.

Read the original article here.