If you want a taste of real Christmas – joyful and uplifting – you should make your way to St Mark’s in Newnham for Bawds’ A Theatrical Christmas. We saw it last night, on its first outing (at Histon Baptist Church) and loved every minute. It’s a completely satisfying programme of seasonal pieces, some delightfully new to me, others familiar and well-loved, all beautifully threaded together in Madeleine Forrester’s clever script.
The cast were uniformly excellent and clearly enjoying themselves; it was an enjoyment they passed on to us. They all sang, and their singing was wonderful. They were, as I heard someone in the audience say, all so lovable. And you can catch them all in Newnham this coming Friday and Saturday.
Last night, I reviewed A Theatrical Christmas by Bawds, an evening that presented a revue of diverse Christmas material, pulled together into a loose storyline.
Act 1 set the scene with carol singing and preparations for a family Christmas, while Act 2 brought some familiar scenes from A Christmas Carol, the Nativity and a sketch about overindulgence.
There were some lovely moments and highlights in the evening, one of my favourites was a wonderful multi-part arrangement of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, performed beautifully by the cast.
I especially enjoyed the scenes from A Christmas Carol and the finale. The revue showcased some local talent, and the cast of ten did an amazing job, switching characters, and doing everything from poetry recital to short sketches to performing the carols and festive Xmas songs sprinkled throughout. There were some really strong vocal performances, pulling off quite complex harmonies with only a small ‘choir’.
The costumes were colourful and fitted the historical time, scenery was basic as befits the non-theatre venue, and lighting and sound were good. Madeleine, Ian and the creative team have produced a festive treat. There was also a lovely touch with the newspaper-style programme.
Everyone I spoke to enjoyed the show, and said it was getting them in the Christmas spirit!
My only criticism is that at the beginning we were asked not to clap at the end of each scene as it would spoil the flow – sorry, but I felt this meant we weren’t able to show appreciation for particularly good performances and the actors and singers were getting no feedback – surely the whole point of a live audience?
If you missed this performance there are 2 more dates on 5-6 December at St Mark’s Church Newnham, go along for some uplifting festive spirit!