Sorry Mary, Joseph, Mr Floor Manager… there’s no room at the inn! Schools are casting children as celebrities from GBBO and Strictly in their repackaged nativity plays
- Popular elementary school productions include Bethlehem Bake-Off
For generations they have been as much a part of the Christmas tradition as roast turkey and mistletoe.
But this year's school nativity plays are repackaging the birth of Jesus as reality TV shows – with names based on shows such as The Great British Bake Off and Strictly Come Dancing.
Popular leading roles for students now include “famous television presenter” or “floor manager” as well as the traditional characters Mary, Joseph and the archangel Gabriel.
Popular primary school productions include Bethlehem Bake-Off, which is said to be set during a live TV broadcast of a biblical-era baking competition. The script features shepherds, a choir of angels and the three wise men tackling the first task – baking unleavened bread – as the hosts interview each participant and it is revealed that they are in town for the birth of a special baby.
This year's school nativity plays repackage the birth of Jesus into reality TV shows
Meanwhile lights, camel, action! Aimed at five to nine year olds, It's Strictly the Nativity features “nativity celebrities celebrating the birth of Jesus with a dazzling dance show” full of “humor and sparkle.”
It's so popular that the company that developed it, Out Of The Ark, produced a sequel: Lights, Camel, Action 2! The Sequins: It's Still Strictly the Nativity, which contains a song called “Nazareth Hustle”. Matt Crossey from The School Musicals Company said: “We release two or three new nativity plays each year and are always looking for new ideas to help children of all faiths engage with the Christmas story.”
But critics insist that the timeless story does not need to be “modernized” and that the TV theme pieces “dilute” the story and rob it of its power and mystery.
Tory MP Robin Walker, chairman of the education committee, said: “The point of the nativity scene is to tell the Christmas story.” “While it is nice to see this done in a creative way, it is important that the Christian “The context of the birth of Christ is adequately reflected.”
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