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A fabulous festive family favourite, Birmingham-born Debbie Isitt’s critically acclaimed Nativity! The Musical is the perfect show to get theatre-goers in the Christmas spirit. Boasting a feelgood storyline, a romantic element, bucketloads of humour and a cast of extremely talented kids, the hit production is showing at Birmingham Rep across the festive season. What’s On recently caught up with Debbie to talk about the show’s enduring appeal...
For writer and director Debbie Isitt, it’s Christmas all year round. As the creator of four hit Nativity! films and a successful stage musical, there’s an element of jingle bells in her life every day. And from mid-month, she’ll be enjoying sharing the festivities with audiences, when Nativity! The Musical returns to the stage at Birmingham Rep. Born and brought up in Birmingham, Debbie first launched the story of two schools battling it out for the best Christmas show in her 2009 film, Nativity! Set in Coventry and starring Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton and Ashley Jensen, the movie rapidly won the hearts of children and adults alike - so much so it was followed by Nativity! 2, 3 and 4, featuring a host of top actors including David Tennant, Martin Clunes, Catherine Tate, Celia Imrie and Meera Syal. The stage show was produced by Birmingham Rep in 2017, and Debbie, who now lives in Coventry, is delighted the new tour again launches back on home turf. “When we decided to do the show, we wanted to do a co-production with a local theatre because it’s set in Coventry and about the West Midlands. The Birmingham Rep is one of the greatest theatres in the country, and it’s somewhere that’s very important to me. I grew up watching shows at The Rep since I was about six or seven years old, so it felt like home and it felt absolutely right that the show started there. “Although I’d been on a tremendous journey with the filming, it felt extra-special seeing it on the stage. To think that I was now instrumental in bringing a piece of musical theatre to that very same stage where I had watched shows as a child was really emotional, moving and tremendously exciting. There’s nothing to beat live theatre at its best. Now the musical is coming home again, which is really brilliant, especially after everything we’ve been through with the pandemic.” Nativity! was inspired by Debbie’s own experiences of childhood Christmas shows. “I’ve got two sisters, and my mum was keen on each of us being Mary in the nativity at school, so she terrified the teachers to make sure we got the part. So all three of us got to play Mary. We always talk about it at Christmas, me and my sisters! “It’s funny because Mary’s not actually the best part; there are more entertaining parts. I would’ve loved to have been an angel because I loved the costume with the wings and the long dress. I dreamt of being an angel, but no, it was Mary.” Debbie believes it’s this shared memory of school plays which has made Nativity! popular with film and theatre audiences. “The story is so relatable - so many people have either been that child at school doing the Christmas show, or the parent of that child, or the grandparent of that child. It’s a multi-generational story that we all kind of understand and empathise with. “Since I made the first film, I’ve heard a lot of nativity stories and seen a lot as well. People send me a lot of bits of film of their children in nativities. “Then there’s the idea of the underdog, the child who is the outsider, overcoming obstacles and showing that everyone is special and everyone has their gifts and talents. That’s what’s really at its heart - the children, and overcoming adversity. It’s a very empowering message, and at Christmas time we want to feel good, we want to feel the world is a lovely place. Nativity! really does offer those messages.” Central to the story is the madcap teaching assistant Mr Poppy, a child at heart, who is overflowing with enthusiasm for the class he teaches and their Christmas show. So did Debbie have a Mr Poppy when she was a youngster? “Mr Poppy isn’t based on any teachers I knew, but I wish he had been because I would’ve loved to have a Mr Poppy at school. But I think he’s a kind of wish-fulfilment character - that imaginary friend or imaginary teacher or imaginary classroom assistant. He’s from my imagination, based on the desire for a Mr Poppy. I’ve since heard lots of people say, ‘I’ve got a teacher that’s just like Mr Poppy,’ and I think, ‘Aren’t you lucky - how brilliant!’” The production features 37 schoolchildren in the cast, performing in teams on different dates, and Debbie says it’s always a hard decision to choose the young actors. “One of the highlights for me is auditioning the children because, like within the film and within the show, when children audition they bring their heart and soul and they put it all out on the table. It’s such good fun, and they have a very happy time with a lovely workshop. “All the children bring something magical, so it’s very tough for me because I would love to cast them all! We have to whittle it down to get there, and it’s quite a process. We have thousands apply, and 37 doesn’t seem so many when you’ve looked at 800 tapes.” The opening night on 19 November will be particularly special for Debbie, coming as it does after the past few years of Covid and the death of her father. “It’s going to be very emotional for me because there was a moment there for a couple of years where we thought it might never happen again - not just Nativity! but all theatre. And, like many other people, I lost my dad to Covid. We went through a very, very sad time, and this is hopefully a tribute to him as well. As a Brummie and someone who loved the theatre, it’s a really lovely way of honouring his memory. We are dedicating the whole production to him.”
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