REVIEW | Nativity!, Little Theatre Leicester

The cast of Nativity. Photo credit Poyner + Mee.

Written by Sam

Disclaimer: We were gifted a ticket in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own

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The film Nativity! is a family favourite as every school year, primary school children get the opportunity to star in the very well-known story of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. Although, at St Bernadette’s School they decide to go down the musical route. With Mr Maddens previous minus two-star reviews in the Coventry Telegraph still haunt him but with Mr Poppy’s influence and support from Mrs Bevan, it’s all go, go, go for Nativity! The Musical.

As Mr Maddens relationship with rival teacher, Gordon Shakespeare becomes more hostile, he finds himself in a situation where he’s overpromising that a Hollywood producer is coming to see the show to turn it into a film and his true competitive side comes out. Mr Poppy hears this, unbeknown that it is actually a lie, and starts spreading the news across the school – even the Lord Mayor gets the latest scoop. 

It's my first time seeing Knighton Park Amateur Operatic Society (KPAOS) and I was pleasantly surprised to see two people I know in the cast. In this adaptation, we are first introduced to Mr Poppy (Ed Turner) as the narrator, and I thought this was a great way to open the show as people were instantly engaged with the character as Ed’s portrayal of Mr Poppy is very similar to the film – he was born to play this character, it suited him so much. I started laughing within seconds, the opening lines were funny.

Mr Maddens (Dan Rowberry) was again, true to how the character is portrayed within the film. There was attitude, negativity, and similar mannerisms, and I really liked this because I have always enjoyed Martin Freeman’s acting. We also meet Jennifer (Grace Bale), Mr Maddons’ ex-girlfriend who has several solos during the show and her vocals are stunning to listen to, I’d be very interested to see what else she can do. 

Fellow teacher, Gordon Shakespeare (Alex Thompson) played the perfect villain. He was fun to watch, he embraced the whole stage and added an evil touch to a family show that was almost comical. His solo performance of King Henry got the crowd going!

The set itself is simplistic but it works because it has been designed well. The presents stacked on stage and around the side make it feel Christmassy, so I don’t think anything was missing. It made me feel warm and excited about the festive season as soon as I arrived in the theatre. 

There was an array of costumes both festive and winter clothing and I thought everyone looked great. Again, it was simplistic but it worked because it portrayed normal people, so nothing was extravagant or over the top (which isn’t needed for Nativity! The Musical) to shine. 

I loved how many children were involved in this performance, it’s a true reflection of a small primary school class and it was a perfect balance between the different age groups in the cast. I must comment on how sassy, engaged, and confident each and every child was on stage. They really put their all into their performance. Olly (Ethan Jones) and Ruby Preston were incredible and particular standouts in this performance. Olly’s rap was fantastic, he did so well to remember all those lines because he had to say them at such a rapid pace. Ruby is a born performer, her voice is angelic and she’s an excellent dancer, her confidence really shone through. 

As it was opening night, teething problems were to be expected but sadly, there were quite a lot of issues with sound – microphones sounding like they were underwater, cues being missed by the sound technicians of when microphones needed to be turned up and there were occasions where interference occurred. At times, it was hard to hear some of the cast members as not all the children had microphones, but they tried their best to project their voices.

Overall, I thought this show was fantastic. I thought it was funny, it made me smile, and everyone seemed to gel on stage like they’d been performing this in front of an audience for weeks. I think the cast and orchestra have a great week ahead of them and families are definitely going to enjoy this show. It’s the perfect show to get you into the festive spirit.

★ ★ ★ ★

At Little Theatre Leicester until 25 November.