Nativity The Musical at The Little Theatre Leicester Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Rachel Sworder

Nativity!! Only means one thing in our house the start of Christmas!!

When the opportunity to watch this at the theatre with my daughters (9,11) came about, I was a little apprehensive, there’s always a chance it could ruin the original, making me dislike the hit we love so much as a family.  Could anyone really be as fabulous as the on-screen Mr Poppy?  Would we feel as connected?  But we were totally in awe of the whole show!

What an amazing performance!

We were captivated from the start right until the end!  Each and everyone of the Actors, you could tell put their heart and soul in to the Nativity performance.

Our favourite performer of the evening had to be Mr Poppy – he was so connected with the audience and exactly the right person for the role!  Ed Turner was superb as soon as he burst on to the stage we knew the show was going to be just as good if not better than the film we love.

Mr Maddens – Dan Rowberry- and Mr Poppy worked so well onstage together the perfect pairing the show just flowed, and the laughter from the audience was lovely to hear.

Moving on to the sparkle cast-well what can I say how amazing were they!  Each Individual young person again brought so much to the show, taking on the roles of the St Bernadette’s children so well!  A special mention needs to go to the young lady who played the lead role for the sparkle cast (I am unsure of her name) she was spectacular, absolutely on form and played the part amazingly, my girls were absolutely in awe of her personality and performance.

The voices coming from all of the young people were also fantastic you can tell they have worked so hard on perfecting the performance for us, the audience!

On to the venue…
We arrived at the theatre at around 7pm giving us enough time to take in the surroundings and the atmosphere of the evening before taking our seats for the show.  What a lovely theatre it was.  The area where we arrived to was standing only and this did become a little crowded, but we were able to move ourselves to a less crowded area or go and take our seats if we wished to.

The bar served a nice selection of drinks and snacks for those wanting to buy them, the staffing seemed a little disorganised though this evening, so we seemed to be waiting for quite a while to purchase drinks and snacks.  This did not hinder our excitement for the show though!

Another set back for some on this evening was that the lift was out if service so no access to the upper level unless you were able to use the stairs.  I did however notice that this had been posted on the theatre Web page so did give ample warning to those attending for the show.

When we went to find our seats we were able to do this with the support of the theatre staff, which was helpful as we have not been to this theatre before.

Once seated I found myself to be quite chilly and felt this throughout the whole performance so needed to keep my jacket on.  Also if seated in the middle of the row, access was difficult if you hadn’t sat down first.

Overall we all had a fantastic evening and felt that this show is suitable for the whole family.  Its funny characters and catchy songs make it a must see show!  I will definitely be looking at what’s on at The Little Theatre in the future and hopefully booking another family outing!

Nativity The Musical is at The Little Theatre, November 21-25, 2023.  Tickets are sold out, but call the box office (0116 255 1302) to join the waiting list.

Rating: 4/5