STRAWBERRY LINE TIMES – Theatre Review: And so it came to pass that an anarchic and highly enjoyable version of the Nativity took place in Bristol with Kid Carpet and a hedgehog wrapped in swaddling clothes

Review. Noisy Nativity, Spielman Theatre in the Tobacco Factory.

Tidings of great joy on earth as Kid Carpet (Ed Patrick) begat an original and irreverent nativity show with the Noisy Animals to the great joy of gathered families with younger children.

And Lo, using puppetry, children’s toys, a miniature nativity, special effects, videos and his own brand of high-energy-rock-singer-come-quick-thinking-stand-up the unconventional production proved another a success in this third in his series with the animals: namely badger, gorilla, bear and hedgehog.

And verily with his easy stage persona, relaxed adlibbing and friendly interaction with the audience Kid Carpet held the attention throughout the hour long show of the small children as young as two and three.

And an angel of the David Bowie came down was indeed a stand-out moment along with Kid Carpet’s awkward conversations with God as he defends his use of the Noisy Animals in the Nativity. Other highlights included a series of rollicking songs, Gorilla fainting during Bear’s labour pains in the stable, the Jesus is a Hedgehog lament and the enjoyably silly films that reflect the songs such as the Golden Eagle flying the animals to Bethlehem.

Unto us a hedgehog is born meaning devoutly traditional Christians could find fault with the irreverent nature of the narrative which is essentially an ad-hoc, make-it-up-as-you-go-along version of the Nativity despite the tightly plotted production. And thus even God approves of the essential core values of the production with its emphasis on helping each other, being good and celebrating the birth of Jesus. Its message is that being unconventional is cool and creating your own interpretation of the Nativity is fine as it feeds into the many versions of the famous story.

Praise be the Noisy Nativity as older children will relish the smut while adults will connect with the nostalgia of back in the day video games, the everyday irritations of parcels delivered for next door and Kid Carpet’s whimsical songs that release the punk rocker within him.

Harry Mottram

The show runs to January 5, 2020, with performances at various times.

For details visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com and for more on Ed Patrick see https://kidcarpet.co.uk/another-page/

For more reviews, news and views on theatre and much else visit www.harrymottram.co.uk

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