In case the new M&S advert hasn’t tipped you off already, Christmas is coming once again and it’s time to prepare for the various festive entertainment on offer.
First up we have The Corstorphine Road Nativity, (3 – 19 December) set in the fictional Corstorphine Road Primary School in Edinburgh where all the parts in the annual school nativity play are played by adults.
Based on real stories from actual nativity plays, Firth catalogues behind the scenes jealousy, teasing, blackmail and unrequited love as the “children” prepare to perform for their parents. The play is based on the 1999 TV drama The Flint Street Nativity by Tim Firth (Calendar Girls), this version building on the success of an earlier adaptation staged at Liverpool Playhouse.
Using real stories from actual nativity plays, Firth catalogues behind the scenes jealousy, teasing, blackmail and unrequited love as the “children” prepare to perform for their parents.
Backstage nerves take hold as the trembling narrator tries desperately to learn his lines and the wise man struggles to overcome his lisp and pronounce the word Frankincense.
Playground politics come into force as the school bully attempts to steal the role of Mary from the teacher’s pet and a deadly innkeeper refuses to let anyone in – apart from Mary herself of course. And with fluffed entrances, forgotten lines, brazen upstaging and distractions of excited parent-spotting, the nativity performance itself soon descends into a chaotic but hilarious charade.
The production will be directed by Joanna Read, former artistic director of Salisbury Playhouse, with set and costume designs by Nancy Surman.
The impressive cast includes: Shabana Bakhsh (Waterloo Road), Jimmy Chisholm (Take The High Road), Sara Crowe (Four Weddings & A Funeral), Ryan Fletcher (River City), Gordon Kennedy (Robin Hood), Jane McCarry (Still Game), Steven McNicoll (Legit), Colin McCredie (Taggart), Julie Wilson Nimmo (Balamory) and Gail Watson (Sunshine On Leith).
For full details head over to the Festival Theatre website.
Filed under: Theatre Preview | Tagged: Festival Theatre
