Outdoor Nativity Play “Christmas Live!” will be performed live in Easington, East Yorkshire, starting at 7.00pm on Tuesday 21st December.
The play was written by Philip West, now Church of England Deanery Priest for the churches across South Holderness, in a hilltop parish on the western edge of Sheffield in 1995. It uses real animals as performers and usually a real baby. It has regularly attracted audiences of several hundred and is still performed there annually.
The format is similar to the outdoor “Easter Story” Passion Play staged by churches in Withernsea and Hedon in 2017 and 2019. The actors mime to a fast-paced narration with the audience standing round the action. With players and audience moving from scene to scene, most of the action will take place at Easington school or a short walk round the corner.
The angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her she is to be mother of the Son of God; another angel reassures Joseph that he can marry Mary. Complete with donkey, the couple travel to Bethlehem for registration. Shepherds watch over their flocks and angels announce the birth of Jesus. In the stable we find Mary, Joseph and the baby and the donkey.
The real Wise men might have travelled from the East by camel, but these will arrive on splendid local horses.
Author the Revd Philip West says, “I am delighted to be able to bring ‘Christmas Live!’ to Easington this year. Villagers are keen to help out and are already looking forward to it, and we hope to draw people from across South Holderness. They won’t be disappointed.