Every child in every school has one Christmas wish, to star in a Nativity. Now, that wish has come true for 27 local children who have been chosen to ‘Sparkle and Shine’ in Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s forthcoming world premiere production of Debbie Isitt’s NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL.
Cast from across Birmingham and the West Midlands as the children of St Bernadette’s School are: Harry Martin, (age 9, from Tamworth), Fintan McGrory, (age 8, from Warwickshire) and Moosa Mostafa, (age 9, from Leamington Spa) who will alternate in the role of ‘Cute Joseph’.
Jasmine McKenna, (age 9, from Coventry), Layla Grace Quaid, (age 11, from Worcestershire) and Beatrice Schofield, (age 10, from Birmingham) who will alternate the role of ‘Cute Mary’.
Evie Bennell-Low, (age 9, from Coventry), Katelyn-Janet Rollason, (age 9, from Kidderminster) and Chantelle Jane Tonolete, (age 9, from Birmingham) who will alternate the role of ‘The Star’.
Gerald Ngwenya, (age 11, from Wolverhampton), Kheiri Isaac-Osmani, (age 11, from Birmingham) and William Redican, (age 10, from Birmingham) who will alternate the role of ‘Angel Gabriel’.
Oratile Chele, (age 9, from Birmingham), Chaelissa Gray, (age 9, from Birmingham) and Angelina Martin, (age 9, from Worcester) who will alternate the role of the ‘Shepherd’.
Layla Grace Gavin, (age 8, from Coventry), Betsy Jiggins, (age 9, from Solihull) and Lyla Peters, (age 10, from Coventry) who will alternate the role of ‘Child Jennifer’.
Alexander Hogg, (age 11, from Walsall), Joshua Millard-Lloyd, (age 9, from Sandwell) and Archie Turner, (age 10, from Sandwell) who will alternate the role of ‘Child Gordon’.
Jamie Bates, (age 10, from Leicestershire), Zak Lackenby, (age 10, from Dudley) and Nicholas Vakis, (age 10, from Burton on Trent) who will alternate the role of ‘Child Paul’.
They will be joined by Grace Green, (age 10, from Castle Bromwich), Amy Mulhall, (age 9, from Worcestershire) and Celie Newman, (age 9, from Coventry) who will alternate the role of ‘Feel Sick Girl’.
Debbie Isitt, Creator and Director of Nativity! said: “Birmingham and the West Midlands has so many talented children and I loved meeting all of them at our auditions. I’m absolutely delighted to be working with our sweet and funny young cast and the incredibly talented and hilariously funny musical theatre cast who are going to be brilliant. NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL is so full of joy and we’re looking forward to cracking on with rehearsals to create an unforgettable stage show.”
The full adult cast for NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL is: Simon Lipkin who will play ‘Mr Poppy’, Sarah Earnshaw as ‘Jennifer Lore’, Andy Brady as ‘Mr Shakespeare’, Jemma Churchill as ‘Mrs Bevan’, Jamie Chapman as ‘Patrick Burns’, and Daniel Boys who will play ‘Paul Maddens’. They are joined by Derek Aidoo, Jalisa Andrews, Andy Barke, Gary Davis, Jennifer Louise Jones and Katia Sartini.
Every child in every school has one Christmas wish, to star in a Nativity, and at St Bernadette’s School they’ve decided to mount a musical version! Join teacher Mr Maddens and his crazy assistant Mr Poppy as they struggle with hilarious children, unruly animals and a whole lot of sparkle and shine to make everyone’s Christmas wish come true. Featuring all of your favourite sing-a-long songs from the smash-hit films including Sparkle and Shine, Nazareth and One Night One Moment. NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL promises to be the perfect feel-good comedy for all the family.
Written and Directed by Debbie Isitt with music and lyrics by Nicky Ager and Debbie Isitt, NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL is choreographed by Andrew Wright, designed by David Woodhead, with lighting design by Tim Mitchell, sound design by Tom Marshall and musical supervision and orchestrations by George Dyer.
NATIVITY! THE MUSICAL opens at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on Friday 20 October until Saturday 12 November.
