Nativity! The Musical At The Kings Theatre, Southsea Review

Reviewed by Lilybean

Nativity! has always been a firm favourite of mine. It’s our go-to film, especially at this time of year
as we leave the ghosts and ghouls of Halloween behind and look ahead towards the sparkling
lights and festival excitement of Christmas. So, I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to
review “Nativity! The Musical” at the Kings Theatre last night. CCADS are in their 30th year and
are committed to providing the highest possible standard in local theatre. We couldn’t wait for the
show to begin.

Nativity! The Musical is the uplifting story of St Bernadettes, a failing primary school, and their
quest to produce an amazing Nativity performance to save their school from special measures.
The responsibility lays firmly at the feet of teacher Paul Maddens and his newly appointed
teaching assistant Mr Poppy. Mr Maddens tries to lead a class of so-called unruly children with
very little talent, whilst recovering from a broken heart. The two, very different, members of staff
embark on a journey to create the best nativity Coventry has ever seen; their goal to gain that all
important 5 star review. A little white lie to impress a local private school teacher from Oakmoor,
creates a whole sleigh-full of drama and the town are led to believe that their little school nativity
show will be attended by a big Hollywood film producer including his ex-girlfriend Jennifer.

Despite Mr Maddens original reservations, he guides the children on their journey to Bethlehem,
with 24 beautiful musical numbers including Sparkle and Shine, Hollywood are Coming and One
Night, One Moment, bringing St Bernadettes firmly back into the spotlight, where they belong.
Paul Maddens is played by actor/director John-Paul McCrohon; a regular lead with the CCADS,
and we knew we were in good hands right from the start. Vocally strong with a confident
performance, he lead the cast well. He was joined by Matt Sackman, who played the enthusiastic,
infuriating but simply lovable Mr Poppy. Playing such a popular role doesn’t come without its
challenges, but Matt played the role with the perfect amount of humour, comedic timing, warmth and pure joy and we all fell in love with him. His energy lit the stage and he moved me to tears on more than one occasion. Tony Johnson was hilarious as the attention seeking Gordon Shakespeare and we particular loved Tony Dart as the nativity critic, Patrick Burns. He had us chuckling every time he appeared.

The adult cast were all strong, with excellent vocals and a professional exterior, something that we have come to expect from CCADS. However, it was the school children who drove this performance. From the moment the curtain
was raised, the voices of the Blue Team lifted to the rafters. There was an audible gasp as they
started to sing and they brought a smile to my face that remained until the very end. Looking
around at other audience members, I wasn’t the only one. The audience supported the young
cast with a ferocious applause after every number, encouraging each and every one of them. It
was one of the most joyful experiences I have ever witnessed at a theatre performance. The old
saying “Never work with children or animals” was totally disregarded here and the show was all
the best for it. We even met Buster, the 3 year old Maltipoo, who played the lovable Cracker. The
final scenes gave me goosebumps. As audience members, we were drawn into the production
and many of us were brought to tears. The child actors were an inspiration; full of energy, even at
the end of the show. They were entertaining, vocally excellent and with a confidence to rival all the adult leads. They truly were the stars of the show. A well deserved 5 stars from Patrick Burns
himself and it’s definitely 5 stars from me, full of “Sparkle and Shine”.

Rating: 5/5

The Kings Theatre, Southsea

Thursday 3rd – Saturday 5th November 2022

Nightly at 7.30pm, Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets start at £18

For more information or to book tickets please visit NATIVITY! The Musical – CCADS Theatre Group (ccads-theatre.co.uk)