Early Doors

I was at Jake's nativity play this morning. What a farce! The story had a vaguely familiar ring, but sadly they'd made no effort to place it in a modern context. I mean, there's a single mother who's not sure who the father is; there's a tax review going on; a housing shortage. Couldn't be more 2008!
For all that, the part of the innkeeper was played with verve and gusto, and there was some excellent skin work from one of the pigs. Jake's performance as one of the three sheep was a masterwork of subtle characterisation which overcame his lack of costume (which had been rejected by the actor at the last moment). Some last minute blocking changes, however, left several of the shepherds looking stranded, and there were just too many guiding stars to be strictly credible. On the whole, a charming spin on contemporary mores; a petite farce aimed more at the heart than the head. 4*