Nativity The Musical Review Cardiff
Nativity! The Musical Review Cardiff:
Wales Millennium Centre
Thursday 21 November 7pm
Tickets cost £136.50 for one adult and two children in the stalls
We’re really hoping next time this show goes out on a tour it comes to Bristol. The original Nativity! movie is a firm family favourite, one which makes an easy transition from screen to stage. This production isn’t a cynical cheap conversion, it a joy-filled affair which is faithful to the spirit of the original film.
There are new songs written for the show. These are all absolutely forgettable, but this doesn’t matter at all.
The fabulous Scott Paige takes on the role of the beloved-by-children Mr Poppy with appropriate gusto and fun. In fact, this show is expertly cast. What is really striking and a key part of the show’s success is that the St Bernadette’s School kids have not been cast from the usual suspect stage schools. They are children who can sing and act, but without that gleaming finesse from the Sylvia Youngs or Arts Ed schools which makes this show feel genuine and genuinely heartwarming. It feels real and that anything can happen. It has an edge that other shows don’t have and this is down to the brilliance of all the children on stage.
The final Nativity scene was a flurry of excitement which was palpable from the audience. You could feel them straining to keep from singing along. It’s not often you can get such a sense of excitement from an audience and the standing ovation which started almost before the final notes had finished was well and truly deserved.
I paid a lot of money to come and see this show with my children. Being a big fan of the film – something which has always held more than a grain of truth from my time working as a TA in a primary school – I really didn’t want to be disappointed and I wasn’t. We had a fantastic time and hope to see this fab show in a theatre a bit closer to us this time next year.
For more information about the show: www.nativitythemusical.com
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